Bleed for Me
by ShyAnon
Summary: A common link bound the three, and an evil sought to tear it all away... When the end comes will you bleed to live or die trying?
1. Coincidences

**Bleed for Me:**

**Chapter 1**

Amy never liked riding the bus home. Moreso now she had wished she'd taken up Erik's offer to drive her home, even if he was a pervert. She could handle him easily with the stun gun concealed in her purse, no problem. But she felt herself tense as someone a few seats behind her coughed softly.

_It's him AGAIN_... she thought bitterly. The hooded man she had caught glimpses of almost everywhere she went over the past week and a half.

The first few times she thought it was pure coincidence, but the more frequent times she came across this unknown figure the more uneasy she became. Was he stalking her? She had heard about a lunatic recently on the news who had been terrorizing people all over the city. Could this be him, and she was his next victim?

She smirked inwardly. She had obviously spent too many a night watching one of her favorite real life murder case TV shows. Seen too many terrible things to the point she trusted no one. But if he wasn't a stalker, if he wasn't a mad man, then who the hell was he?

"Next stop, South Parker street & Rendell" the driver said gruffly over the crowd. She noticed the tired sound in his voice and remembered it was after 1 AM. She groaned at the prospect of getting up in less than 4 hours to be back at work.

Nothing had gone the way it was supposed to. She idly drummed her fingers on her lap as she thought of everything leading up to her move into the city. She had such high hopes, but she learned quickly how big city hopes could be trampled upon. She once wanted to be a great pianist. Yet all her hard work and sacrifice had gotten her was a waitress's job that kept her busy till 5pm, and another less than respectable job from 6pm until 1am...

Amy arranged her skirt over her knee out of habitual thought. All she really wanted now was a shower and a warm bed.

The bus pulled to a stop, and if she hadn't heard the man cough again she might have missed her stop in her thoughful haze. She stood up, throwing her bag over her shoulder, and headed off the bus.

"You take care Miss Amy" the bus driver chimed as she went to step off.

"You too, goodnight" she said waving, giving him a smile. She felt a pang of guilt as she began to walk. She had been riding this bus for 3 months and while the bus driver had remembered her name from her pass she had never bothered to ask for his. Yet, despite his long nights, and many different faces passing through his door, he always remembered to say goodnight to her by name. Amy wished she could be more like him.

She was very caught up in these thought as she travelled down the dark street. So much so that it took her a long while to realize she wasn't alone. Her heart gave a giant thud and her blood ran cold all over. _He NEVER follows me past the bus!_ Her heart was in her throat, and despite her earlier thoughts she was too frozen to reach for her stun gun. She heard the footsteps behind her, but she couldn't turn around, too afraid to see that figure there. Her ears strained for every sound. Was his footsteps closer? Should she run? Scream? She was suddenly feeling very warm, almost claustrophobic at this lack of control.

Then she jumped as she felt a hand take hold of her shoulder.

"GO AWAY!" she screamed turning around and putting her hands up to guard her face. Silence and an empty street was all that awaited her when she opened her eyes after a moment that seemed like forever. She felt her heart stumble to halt its rapid beating, and slowly she put her hands down at her sides. One going into her purse to clutch her stun gun with sweaty palms.

_Did I scare him away?_... she wondered, once again straining to hear sounds that were no longer there.

"Definitely have been watching too much TV" she sighed into the cool night air as her body temperature lowered, as did her guard. Amy turned and continued her walk towards her apartment. She only took a half step before jumping back, having almost walked into the hooded figure that had been waiting behind her the entire time.

Amy screamed as he loomed over her, but her hand was still clasped over the stun gun. He lifted his hands to pull down the hood and out of fright she didn't stun him with the gun, but backhanded him with the clumsy object. He quickly fell backwards, obviously not expecting this.

"OW!!!! Dammit lady!" he growled as he sat up, the hood no longer there. Amy didn't know what to do, or what to say. She just stared down at the man...no, boy... sitting down on the ground before her. He couldn't be that much older than she was. "I was just trying to say hello... you didn't have to clock me one" he continued as eyes, blue as a hot flame, glared up at her. His hair... it was..

"White..." she whispered.

"No, not white. Dante, my name is Dante" he groaned as he stood up, fingering his chin where she had hit him. "For such a small thing you sure do pack a punch". His face broke into a grin at the look on her face.

At his fullest height he cast over her a dark shadow that seemed to swallow her. She couldn't move, or speak, only stare at the face of the man who had been following her. _His name is Dante _her mind repeated over and over. Maybe she had been working too hard, or maybe this was punishment.

"You Ok?" Dante asked her as she wobbled a bit. She nodded, feeling her throat go dry.

"Why have you been following me?" she asked, taking a step away as he reached out to steady her.

"Oh, well, you know" he smiled boyishly "Pretty lady out at night by herself. Figured you could use a knight in leather armor". He dropped the the coat the hood had been attached to and to her horror he was wearing almost head to toe red leather.

"A-are you here for the cosplay convention?" she asked eyeing him, an eyebrow raised slightly.

"HEY! I resent that..." Dante's face broke into a mock scowl.

Amy couldn't help but laugh a bit, and even felt herself relax.

"Now what? You want to make fun of my choice of shoes as well?"

"No... You just reminded me of someone..." she trailed off. "Well, goodnight Mr. Dante" she said, brushing past him and continuing around the corner, past her apartment. She didn't want him to know where she lived.

"Wait a second!" She felt a hand grab hold of her wrist and she swung around again to find Dante ducked low, as if she were going to hit him again. He unclenched his eyes and stood at his full height again. "Ok, I have been following you but I have good cause". Dante let go of her hand and the two stood in silence for a moment.

"Well?" she asked a bit annoyed. She would never get any sleep at this rate and looking at him was making her feel uneasy. She suddenly felt antsy, like she needed to get away. But he stood there calm. As if he had all the time in the world.

"I think you could be in danger. That's why I've been following you" he said breaking her thoughts.

"In danger? Are you kidding? The past week and a half I've thought I was in danger from YOU"

"What? So I take it the disguise wasn't working?"

"How many people do you know wear hooded robes on a public bus, or out in public for that matter?" she said incredulously to him.

"I'm not crazy if that's what you're thinking" he growled at her, and she couldn't help but shrink back at the tone in his voice. Dante ran a hand through his white hair and quietly swore. "Just, trust me on this. There are things in this world you know nothing about. I'm trying to help you".

Amy stared at him, not really wanting to believe him. A strange man comes up to her at 1:30 in the morning, dressed in red leather, and wants her to believe her life is in danger? HA! Next thing you know dragons will fall from the sky and talk to her.

"Listen, it's late and I'm going home. You do whatever you need to, but I'm not going to..."

"DAMNIT!" Dante growled pushing her to the ground. Amy covered her head as if Dante were going to attack her, but she didn't feel anything but air and the sting in her palm as she tried to catch herself.

CHING CHING CHING

The noise was so loud, and as she turned she wished she had never gotten out of bed this morning. It was Dante, and another man... but he didn't LOOK like a man. He stood upright, but he had wings, and skin of the deepest blue. Fangs protruded from his mouth as he let out a war cry, every muscle in his arm working to hold up a katana blade that looked like flashes of silver dancing as he and Dante fought.

Then the creature turned and looked at her for the briefest of moments. His eyes were blood red. No pupils, no iris, just pure blood and fuming with hatred for her and the man protecting her.

"What took you so long?" Dante taunted the creature as they fought. "Don't tell me you were afraid to face me?"

The creature lunged forward with inhuman speed towards him.

"Dante look out!" Amy yelled, but her scream wasn't needed. Dante had moved with the same grace and speed out of the way. She watched in horror as the two fought in an almost choreographed motion. The creature seething to tear the man apart, and Dante looking as if he was having a blast.

Amy couldn't stand it. Leaving behind everything she took off running away, anywhere. She came to the apartment door when she realized she'd left her purse, stun gun, and KEYS back by the two around the corner. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she was struck numb by her own horror.

_What are they?!_ Her insides were screaming, to run, run as fast as she could away. As she did so she remembered the doorway on the roof. She had used it many times to hide out from the world when she needed to get away. If she could just get up the fire escape to the roof, she could run into the safety of her building and leave this all behind.

Amy took no chances, she ran as fast as she could towards the fire escape. The ladder was up! She swore to herself and looked around for a means to grab it. Lucky for her the Evans family had just thrown away an old dresser. She grabbed a hold of it and heaved it away from the garbage to place it under the ladder with tense effort.

As she went to climb onto the ladder she heard someone approaching. Her heart hurt so bad and her legs stressed as she reached on tip toes to pull the ladder down. Her fingers grasped onto it just as Dante came running around the corner.

"Amy, WAIT!" he yelled, running to grab her leg before she could begin climbing. But Amy kicked like a wild animal, hitting anything and everything she could in her fear to get away. She quickly climbed up the ladder and as she met solid stairs she ran up, up , up until she reached the cold surface of the concrete rooftop.

She lay down gasping for breath, feeling the cold night air on her bare foot. Dante must have grabbed her shoe. She didn't care. The doorway to home was so close now. She stood up and half heartedly began to run, her lungs burning as each gasp of breathe set fire to her body. But then, to her horror, the creature dropped down in front of her, its eyes blazing.

"Give it to me girl" it growled at her, reaching a clawed hand out. There was blood on those claws, was it Dante's? She felt her insides squirm as he drew nearer. Every step forward he took was another step she took backwards. "Don't make me tell you twice" he hissed, a demonic smile spreading over his mouth. His sharp fangs shown in full this time.

Amy was so tired and terrified, but she didn't know what he wanted. How could she? The rooftop was spinning. Between her lack of sleep, the work out she had just given her body, and the creature that towered before her, she couldn't feel her limbs anymore. She took another step backwards and fell over the side welcoming sleep.

Yet, it did not come. Instead a hand clasped around her wrist, and she opened her eyes to see a familiar face. Silvery white hair laying over electrifyingly blue eyes looking at her over the edge of the rooftop. For a long time she didn't believe what she was seeing... This wasn't Dante, but...

"Vergil?" she whispered up to the man in recognition. As if she had shocked him the man dropped her arm quickly and Amy faded into the darkness of exhaustion.


	2. Dark Protector

**Sorry for the late introduction, I'm still trying to figure out how to use this site and this is my first fan fiction so have some patience with me. I appreciate all positive and constructive reviews left.**

**I will be doing this story only if it does well. Out of my excitement I have finished the first 3 chapters of the story but depending on how good the response is will determine if I continue it .**

* * *

**Bleed for Me**

**Chapter 2**

Amy could hear the gentle sounds of a piano playing softly. She smiled as she walked towards the window across from it.

"You're getting better" she said quietly, smiling towards the figure sitting on the piano bench.

"I'm never quite as good as when we're playing together" a deep voice replied, tinkling the keys in random. "Will you play with me Amy?"

"OK then". Amy lifted the violin to her chin and waited for him to play the sad notes on the piano. Such joy she found in these moments when she could play her music and forget the world around her. The moments spent within this small room, feeling the piano vibrate music through the floor and into her soul. It was strange, but playing always felt other worldly when she played the music with him.

But the music had stopped, and she felt the arms close around her gently. She shivered at the contact, wondering if it could always be this way.

"Amy..." he breathed into her ear. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Vergil" she sighed turning into his embrace, but rather than a soft shirt she felt leathery snake like scales. The grasp on her grew tighter and as she looked up a creature with blood red eyes, and sharp fangs was glaring down at her.

"GIVE IT TO ME!!" he screamed, as he crushed her in his arms.

"NO!!! she screamed in terror, pushing as hard as she could to get away. "LET ME GO!"

"Hey, calm down! I don't need another black eye!" someone growled out of sight.

Amy could feel the cold sweat on her face, or were they tears? She could also still feel someone with a tight grip on her. Her eyes were hazy, and she hid her face in the chest of the person holding her, too afraid of what she might find if she looked.

"No no no..." she said weakly. "Go away, please, go away".

"It's OK, he's not here anymore" Dante's voice broke through the haze, and to Amy's surprise it was gentle. She shook her head, but still wouldn't look at him. Dante smiled a bit. "What have you got to worry about with me here to protect you, right?"

Amy paused. Opening her eyes to see that the skin peaking beneath Dante's coat was not dark blue, or scaly, but pale and soft. Slowly she lifted her head, too afraid the face would pop out at her again, until she met the eyes of the boy... no man... who had saved her life.

As she stared into his bright blue eyes she felt her heart breaking all over again. A single tear fell from her eyes as she asked "W-why do you look like Vergil?"

Dante stared down into her wide green eyes in disbelief. "How do you know my brother?"

"Your brother?" she whispered, avoiding his gaze.

"Yes, Vergil is my twin brother..." Dante sighed "And here I thought you were staring at me because you thought I was hot".

Caught off guard by this simple comment Amy began slowly to laugh through her owns tears.

"There we go." Dante smirked pushing back her auburn hair from her face. "C'mon, I'll make you something for breakfast". Amy stopped dead in her tracks.

"Breakfast?! SHIT, what time is it?!" she exclaimed pushing him away and turning towards the clock on her night stand. So he had brought her home after all, her purse hanging from the door knob and her stun gun sitting FAR away from the bed.

"Oh no, I'm late for work!" she continued rushing around looking for clothes, not paying attention to Dante getting up from the floor she had pushed him to in her hurry. Dante casually walked over to her and lifted her up over his shoulder. "What the HELL are you doing?!"

He took her back over and set her on the bed. When she attempted to get up again he only pushed her back down.

"NOW, if you keep trying to get up I will handcuff you there" he said grinning deviously at her. She only stared at him blankly. "Where do you work?"

She stayed quiet, unsure if she should tell him. He pulled a pair of handcuffs out from behind him and she quickly answered.

"Rosetti's on 29th street... Why?" she asked looking at him with untrusting eyes. Dante ignored her question, handcuffing one of her arms to the bed before she even noticed he'd done so. He confidently strode over to her purse, grabbed her wallet, cellphone and found what he was looking for. He placed the phone to his ear.

"Yes, may I please speak to the manager? Why thank you..." he paused as she looked at him incredulously. "Yes, hello. I'm calling from Brookhaven Memorial about one of your waitresses." he stared at her drivers license. "Amy... Ivers is very very ill and won't be able to make it to work the next couple of days"

"What?! GOD DA..." she began to shriek at him, but he only covered the mouthpiece and placed a finger to his lips with a grin.

"Oh, I'll let her know... Thank you very much, buh-bye". Dante flipped the phone closed and went to sit next to her on the bed, catching her foot as she tried to kick him off. "Are you insane lady? You just got attacked by a demon and you're worried about work?!" Dante threw her leg down to the floor. "By the way, your boss says he hopes you feel better".

"I HATE you" she spat at him.

"Hate me all you want, but we both need to have a bit of a talk. You see, your life is in danger and if you'd just listened to me in the first place you would've never had to witnessed what you did last night" he said sternly to her. "You don't seem to understand how serious this is that Vergil is after you"

At the mention of the name the anger died from her eyes.

"You're saying that THING last night was Vergil?"

"You seem to know quite a bit, and not enough about my brother..." he eyed her carefully leaning a little too closely for her comfort. "How do you know him? I guess the better question is how do you know him, and why are you still alive?"

She didn't exactly understand the last question. "Your brother and I, we knew each other when we were younger"

"Did you sleep with my brother?!" he asked in astonishment. She kicked a foot out again and again he grabbed it like it was nothing. He set her leg across his lap, under his arms so she couldn't use it as a weapon anymore. His eyes gleamed as he watched her, waiting for an answer.

"No" she said simply, looking away from his face. She felt her cheeks flush at the thought, although was it the idea of her sleeping with Vergil, or the fact Dante was so curious about if she had. She didn't know, all she did know was she didn't like where this was going.

"Well then, good" he said smiling at her. "So you won't mind if I kill him". It wasn't a question.

"Kill him?! He's your brother, _why_ would you kill him?" she yelped, suddenly going pale.

"Let's see... How about he's a prick hellbent on ruling the world, inhabiting it with demons and killing off the humans in it. I can't have that, you humans are so interesting" he said happily, trying to pinch her nose. She quickly bit his finger. "Damn! You're going to be bad for my health, that's the 4th time tonight you've injured me" he stood up, flailing his finger around and then sucking on it gingerly.

"5th" she corrected silently.

"5th?" Dante asked, head turned sideways at her. He underestimated their distance and the fact he had let go of her leg. She swiftly kicked out and this time hit him exactly where she had wanted to. He fell to the floor on his knees. "God dammit" he said slowly as he fell over.

"HEEELPPP!" she started screaming, bouncing on the bed to make the wooden frame bang on the floor and wall. Dante jumped up tenderly and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What are you trying to do?! I'm trying to save your life you little bitch!" he hissed, inches from her face. She just glared up at him, trying her best to keep her composure. But for some odd reason hearing that come from the face that resembled Vergil so much made the corners of her eyes burn. She tried looking away from him, up at the ceiling to keep the tears from returning.

What the hell did he expect her to do? She was scared, and the entire foundation of the world she lived in had been demolished within a few hours. Vergil was a monster who was trying to kill her, and the things that went bump in the night were real. She was being held captive by a man she didn't even know, and at this point didn't want to.

Dante just stared down at her, not really knowing how to explain it all to make her realize how bad her situation was. Yet he kept getting distracted... Were her eyes glassy? If Vergil and her had been more than friends he couldn't blame his brother. There was something very interesting about this girl, even if she was dead set on killing him in his effort to save her.

"I'm going to remove my hand. No biting, no screaming, no kicking. We have a deal?"

For a while Amy just looked at him, debating on what to do. But the warmth of his hand was uncomfortable on her face and after a tense moment she nodded her head. Dante removed his hand and she drew in a deep breath.

Dante sat back up, watching her carefully as she leaned to sit up on the bed. He ran both hands through his hair in frustration and then ran them over his face. _He looks tired_... she thought with a small (very small) pang of guilt.

"I need to know." Dante said suddenly. "It could be the clue as to why Vergil is after you. How do you know him?"


	3. Vergil

**Bleed for Me**

**Chapter 3**

Across the city the sun was peaking over tall buildings, warming the sides it covered, and casting dark cold shadows on the other. In the darkness of one of these shadows sat a very old brick building worn by weather and age. The beaten "for rent" sign hung crooked in a window of the five story building.

At one point it had held a couple of businesses who could appreciate the older look of the building. A reminder of younger days in amongst all the new metalic looking buildings, with their reflective windows that made the sky look like it went on for infinity. But the place had not one interested buyer anymore, as the first floor had almost completely collapsed. No one wanted to make the repairs and so it sat, an empty shell of its former self.

Anyone passing it at night however might notice the faint glow of candle light dancing like ghosts through the windows on the fifth floor. It's occupant very on edge, and pacing the wooden floors back and forth, back and forth...

The tall man had an icy stare that could scare someone in one moment and bewitch in another. His brows furrowed as he stood looking out the window, watching the sun in the distance. Vergil was thinking about that stupid girl...

He was trying with difficulty to ignore the worn down piano on the opposite side from where he stood. Its very presence mocking him as quiet music played in his mind.

"Can't you sleep?" he thought he heard from behind him. When he turned he saw a vision of the stupid girl in a long nightgown before him, just as he had remembered her.

"It's raining again" the voice came again, but this time she sit curled up on the window sill looking out directly in front of him. Vergil jumped backwards, closing his eyes and opening them again to see no sign of the apparition.

Then a loud chord struck on the piano and there she sat playing. "Want to try it Vergil?" she said cheerfully smiling up at him. "I'll teach you".

"NO!" he yelled at the image, closing his eyes and willing the memory to fade away. When he opened his eyes and saw the girl standing on tip toes before him, so close to his face, he lashed out in anger. But all his blade met was the piano. The vision had gone, and Vergil sat down on the bench once again trying his hardest to think of other things.

It had been very hard to forget. It had taken him many years to forget about his childhood, or lack there of. His mother had been killed, and he had thought his brother Dante had died with her. He would later come to find that he and his brother had escaped, although he never knew what Dante had done in the time they were apart. Even now though he didn't care.

Vergil had been found and sent to an orphanage in the country where he spent his days being teased about his unique appearence. His mother had always told him his white hair and unbelievably blue eyes had made him special, and he had believed her with all his heart. Yet at his new home the thing that had made him special in his mothers eyes, had made him a target for bullying to others.

The life lived among these human children had hardened his resolve, and soon none of them would come near him out of fear. He enjoyed his self imposed solitude, enjoyed intimidating others, and knew he needed no one but himself to survive.

Then when he was 14 a young girl arrived. There was nothing special about her. There never was about any children who came to stay in this place. He quickly brushed her off as yet another person he would need to avoid, or intimidate into leaving him be.

They would've never crossed paths if he had never had that nightmare. The same nightmare that had plagued him since his mother died. He had woken with a startle, heart pounding as his mothers death played in his mind over and over. The other boys were asleep, but he found he was wide awake.

He decided to get up and go outside for some fresh air, as he often did when this dream startled him from his sleep. The staff of the orphanage had long ago stopped trying to prevent him from breaking _their_ rules of being out of bed at night. Vergil found the night time suited him better, although it would be years until he would know why.

Vergil had began his descent down the stairs when he noticed, not only the hem of something white move through a doorway, but the door itself closing tightly. Curiousity had gotten the better of him as he reached the bottom of the stairs. So he quietly walked towards the door, watching light flicker out into the hallway from beneath it.

At first all he heard was brief movement, shuffling of feet, wood on wood, and then silence for a moment. Then there was music. Very soft, very sad piano music. The room it came from was one not often used by the children. Most of them had come from families who could never afford a piano, let alone lessons. He wondered if it was one of the adults, so he slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door a sliver only to see that stupid new girl.

Illuminated by a single candle she sat upright on the piano bench with her hands almost lovingly caressing the keys. The candle light played tricks with his vision through the small gap he was peaking through. Did he see a tear on her face? _Maybe she had a bad dream too... _he wondered to himself then quickly added ..._not that I care._

He swallowed hard and continued to listen. In his mind he knew it was stupid to be sitting on the hard floor listening to her play. But something in the music seemed oddly comforting and to his surprise made him forget the visions that had woken him up just a bit ago. He didn't understand it at all and he glowered at the door. But soon the music had stopped and he heard footsteps from upstairs. He jerked his head up as the door opened and the girl came running out, tripping over his crouching figure.

"Ow" she said softly. Vergil looked up to find her half sprawled over him, a silly smile on her face. He was preparing to push her off when he remembered the footsteps. She seemed to sense what he was thinking because she grabbed his hand. "Come on!" she whispered pulling him up and down the hall.

"Where are you taking me!?" he hissed, trying to pull from her grasp. She may have been small, but she was oddly strong for a girl. She didn't respond, only pulled open a small closet near the end of the hall and pushed him in, closing the door behind her as she entered.

"Be quiet if you don't want to get caught" he heard her whisper in the darkness. All he could hear after was his heart racing as footsteps approached and shortly after fade away.

He felt a bit of relief as the footsteps died, and then stopped all together up stairs. Then he remembered the adults would've let him alone if she hadn't yanked him into this closet! He also realized in the deafening silence that she girl was still holding his hand. He quickly pulled it from hers.

"Well, that was fun" he heard her say as she went to open the door.

"Fun?!" he said coldly as he pushed past her. He left her there in the hallway without even a second glance.

When morning came he felt groggy and disordered. Thankfully he had no dreams of his mother, but he kept hearing that damnable song in his head. Worst still the girl, who's name was Amy, smiled at him every time they saw one another. This disturbed Vergil, especially when he noticed the other kids grinning as he walked by, and whispering whenever she made eye contact with him.

Vergil tried his best to ignore the stupid girl Amy, avoiding her completely when he could. But despite himself he still made a night time visit to sit outside the music room. She must have bad dreams as often as he did, because she was in there quietly strumming away every night. Some nights he would hear no music at all, just quiet cries. He didn't want to hear her cry, he wanted to hear her play. He was quite irritable whenever she did this, to the point he almost felt like bursting in the room and demanding she shut up & play. But, he never did. He only sat quietly and waited.

Vergil had wondered if the adults had allowed her this nightime luxery. They never did make any attempt to catch her after that first night. Once one of the teachers had come down to find Vergil sitting on the floor only to pass him by even with the music playing. _Wonder what she did to make them act this way? _But the answer should've been obvious.

During the day the girl Amy was always trying to help. As if she wasn't annoying enough with all her night time cry fests, she would volunteer to help the teachers and other adults. She was, _in many ways_, Vergil thought, his complete opposite. She got along well with others, smiling as if she didn't have a care in the world during the day. Yet at night when she thought no one was watching she didn't smile at all, except when she played, and even then it was through her own tears.

Despite himself he found that he looked forward to the night time a lot more. He sat for almost a full year listening to her play. He was there to hear the improvement of her practice, and while it seemed her crying grew less and less so did his bad dreams. Until he didn't have them anymore. It was strange that when she made to leave he found himself hiding. He never let her know that he spent his night time outside the music room door, and yet if she attempted to talk with him he always gave her an icy cold glare.

The stupid girl who smiled at him during the day, and the girl who played for him at night seemed like two different people. Night and day essentially. He didn't want to know her, didn't want the music in his head to be tarnished by childish stupidity. One night though on his 15th birthday, another pointless holiday that went unnoticed, something changed within the room.

He heard music, but it wasn't one of the regular songs she usually played. Instead it was accompanied by a soft yet shrill voice.

"Happy birthday to you..." the voice sang "Happy birthday to you..."

Vergil tensed all over at the voice. _My GOD is she trying to sing?!_ Worse yet, was she trying to sing to...him? Was this some kind of a trick? He glared at the door again and despite himself opened the door the smallest of cracks to peer inside. The music had since stopped and as he opened the door a little wider he didn't see her on the piano bench anymore. Then with a rush of adrenaline he fell back as green eyes popped in front of the crack he was looking through.

"I thought so" said the girl Amy opening the door to smile down at him. "Can't sleep either?"

Vergil just stared up at her. He had never looked at her much, prefering to listen to the music through the door, and he avoided eye contact with her as much as possible during the day. But as she crouched down in front of him he couldn't help but notice her green eyes looking at him playfully. She leaned forward to give him a hand and he felt, more than noticed, a long strand of her auburn hair brush against his open palm. He involuntarily shivered.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" she said still holding her hand out to him. "Why don't you come in, it's a lot warmer in the room than it is out here on the hardwood floor".

He didn't take her hand, but backed away and stood up again. She followed suit and they just stood there watching one another. She had that stupid smile on her face again, the one that didn't belong in the night time. He decided he would just leave her there, but as he went to turn he felt a hand pull at his sleeve.

"Please come in, I'll play something for you if you do. Anything at all"

Vergil stood rigidly and thought this over. It's not like he'd have to talk with her, and he would be able to listen to the music without the door filtering the sound. After a long moment, without a word, he pulled his sleeve from her hand and entered the room.

The room was small, but it had a cozy fire burning in the grate. She never turned on any lights, only used the light of the fire and the small candle she brought with her to light her way. Nearby the fire was a row of chairs. In the past when they did have a child with a musical ear they would parade them to potential parents in this room. It had an assortment of old instruments that were long out of date. Even the piano the girl Amy now went to sit at was old and the keys white laquer had been chipped.

He took a chair and turned it from her to look into the fireplace. He didn't want to see her face, it was too distracting to him tonight. He waited, wondering if she was trying to get his attention but soon the music began to play and he closed his eyes to listen. A part of him was glad he'd come in. Despite the piano being old it still made beautiful music that put him at ease now as it filled him, unfiltered through the door. Was it the piano chords she struck, or was it his own?

Things changed a bit after this night. He never found out how she knew it was his birthday, but he didn't sit outside the room anymore. They had formed some unexplained understanding and so she never said anything, only played for him into the hours of the night. In return he didn't glower at her as much during the day and aknowledged her presence whenever she was close by. Yet he still couldn't talk with her, even the thought of it made him feel nervous. Something had changed in his eyes after the night she had suckered him into joining him.

He still didn't know why he didn't just stop going down the stairs after everyone was asleep. His ears had begun to strain for the sound of her soft footsteps walking by his door on the way down the steps. The minutes before he heard them felt like eternity and he jumped at every other sound the old building made.

If things had been going well for them, the arrival of a new boy about their age would change everything.


	4. Amy

**Bleed For Me**

**Chapter 4**

The rain had begun sometime while Amy was telling Dante the story she had never forgotten. It had played over in her mind all these years, every waking moment when she wasn't keeping busy had reminded her of it, never letting go.

Now here she sat, looking into the face of a man who looked like an older version of the boy she once thought she knew. A face she never thought she would see again aside from her dreams and her nightmares.

Vergil had never really understood her reasoning for why she'd taken to him after their first encounter. In those days most people had thought it was a crush, but if anything she had feared the steely gaze that had glared at her on a daily basis. It wasn't love that bound her to try to get to know him, but familiarity.

The night she had tripped over Vergil she didn't honestly expect to find him lurking outside the door, especially with how cold he had been to her since her arrival. But the fact he had been caught there fascinated her. Not to mention it brought about painful and yet comforting memories of her younger brother Nathan.

The details of her past were never something she wanted to discuss, and somehow she felt they were hers, and hers alone to know. But she mentioned to Dante that she had had a younger brother who died. He, like Vergil, would listen to her play the piano.

The image of Vergil outside the door had momentarily made her believe it was Nathan there, crouching near the door to listen to her. The fact he seemed to loathe the very sight of her added to her own curiosity about Vergil as a person. He never took an interest in anyone or anything and yet he'd religiously followed after her when she left her room at night.

She had never told him she'd known he'd been listening to her play the entire time, because despite the fact he was outside the room it felt like she had someone there with her. Vergil seemed the type who took his pride very seriously, and if he'd known she enjoyed his quiet company he might have stopped coming all together. She had to let him think it was all his doing and not for her benefit.

After the night he came inside the room willingly things changed. While he was still quiet and easily annoyed he did show her more courtesy than he had previously. On occasion he did allow her, during their night time excursions to ask him questions, but they were generally short or one word answers.

The thought of this Vergil made her smile. He was with her the way he was with no one else and vice versa. They had found quiet companionship with one another, and soon she found herself anxious to be near him, to know more about him.

A year and a half after she arrived at the orphanage a new boy came to the school. David was tall, and at the same time, a wide boy with dark eyes and even darker hair. He was polite to the teachers, but there was something in his smile that spoke of cruelty. It made Amy unconsciously walk slowly to Vergil's side and take hold of his sleeve.

Vergil took no notice of her, but glowered at the boy like he did every new arrival. Even so, she could've sworn she saw his hand twitch inches below her own as David's eyes fell upon the two of them.

"What do you think of the new boy?" Amy had asked him later that night as she idly played with the keys before her.

"I don't think anything of him" he said simply, head leaning back in the chair he was sitting in, eyes closed.

"He scares me, I don't really know why" she continued hitting the same two keys over and over.

"He should, I've seen that kind of smile before"

Amy looked up to see Vergil staring at her over his nose. "You have?" she asked looking towards the fire, never really able to look at him when his eyes seemed so concentrated on her.

"Of course... Every morning when I look in the mirror". She noticed there was the smallest hint of amusement in his voice, and it made her smile.

"Your smile has never scared me... Then again I don't think I've ever seen you smile" Amy looked down at the keys again, he was still watching her and it made her feel uneasy.

"Be glad, the day you see me smile won't be a pleasant one" he said, his voice dropping an octave that made the room suddenly feel cold.

Amy fell silent at these words. _What if I want to see you smile? _Although she wasn't sure if she'd want to see the smile he spoke of. The child in her wanted to think everyone could smile with ease, but Vergil was different. The smile she wanted to see she wasn't sure if it was something he would give so easily.

Amy jumped at a brush near her shoulder and almost fell off the bench when she realized Vergil was no longer in his chair but standing behind her. "You're not playing" he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Oh!" Amy set to playing, although she was still distracted by the fact he was still standing behind her.

"Don't worry" Vergil said, leaning down and whispering over her shoulder, his cheek so close to her own. "If he tries anything I'll kill him". A tremble ran through her, although she wasn't sure if it was his claim to kill or the closeness of him speaking into her ear. She feared the daring in his voice, it didn't sound like an idle threat. Some part of her heart leapt at the protectiveness in his voice though, whether he had meant it to be there or not. Amy cleared her throat.

"Want to try Vergil?" she turned only slightly, not wanting to capture his eyes. "I'll teach you..."

Vergil remained leaning over her side for a moment before sitting next to her. She felt a bit more relaxed now that he wasn't hovering over her, but then she realized that this was the first time they'd sat side by side. She turned to look at him and found him concentrating once again on her. This time however she didn't look away, more like couldn't. His eyes weren't icy, in fact he actually looked...interested in the idea of learning to play.

"Well?" he said after a long moment. Amy didn't know if this was an open invitation but he put up no objections when she took his hand and set it in place on the keys.

The nights turned into practice for Vergil, although Amy had never tried to teach anyone before he adapted quickly to playing. Even seemed to be enjoying it, although he was quick to point out when he learned to play himself he would have no need for her after all... She never knew if this statement was meant as a joke or seriously. She hoped he would never toss her away like that.

----------

The new boy David was 17, two years older than Amy and Vergil. He had a very manipulative air about him that adults didn't seem to catch onto. This scared Amy more than any of the bullying he had been doing behind the adults backs, because it meant he could weasel his way out of anything since the adults considered him a perfect angel. He would always wait until a teacher was not looking, or out of earshot to bully the younger kids. Which considering he was the eldest boy in the home at the time meant everyone... Everyone but Vergil and Amy.

To Vergil's great annoyance Amy had taken to following him around whenever David was in the same room as them. She couldn't help it, she somehow never felt safe if Vergil wasn't close by. It was easy to see why Vergil had been left alone, considering he looked a lot stronger than the 17 year old, but also because of his reputation. Amy believed Vergil was the only thing preventing the boy from bullying her. But it didn't change the fact David eyed her with that polite smile everytime she walked by him in the hallway. The same smile that spoke of cruelty.

One day in particular Vergil seemed to have reached some sort of limit with her.

"Amy..." Vergil said annoyed, standing straight and tall in the doorway. Amy's head poked out from around the corner but Vergil did not turn to look at her.

"Yes Vergil?" she replied, feeling like a child who was about to be reprimanded. She hated when Vergil got in these moods, they were the same age and yet he oozed a kind of unbreakable authority.

"I told you not to follow me didn't I?" Vergil still didn't turn around.

"Yes but..." she stopped as he put a hand up. He didn't say another word, just walked out the front door and shut it behind him. Amy stood in the hallway unsure of what to do next.

_Jerk... _her mind said. She knew she'd come to rely on him more than was necessary, but even though he was cold he was still the closest thing to a friend she had here. She wondered if she should sit and wait for him. _Why should I? He would never sit around to wait for me..._ At this thought her heart sank.

Vergil had not come back by the time the sun had gone down, and despite her earlier feelings she sat on the bottom step of the front porch to wait for him, all the while feeling worried. She'd never known him to stay out so late. Amy skipped dinner and refused to come in when one of the adults came to talk her into coming inside.

"I'll wait for Vergil" was her only reply.

Amy wrapped her jacket closer to herself as chill of night set in. It was well after 10 now and still there was no sign of Vergil. Soon though she heard footsteps coming around the house's porch but to her dismay it wasn't Vergil. It was the new boy David.

"You waiting for that albino kid?" he smiled broadly, sitting down beside her. Amy said nothing, only pulled her jacket closer. "If you ask me, a wild animal probably got him"

"I didn't ask you" she snapped under her breathe.

"There are mountain lions out there, bears, poisonous snakes..." he continued as if he didn't hear her. "I wonder if that white hair of his turns red when soaking up blood"

Amy turned half glaring half wide eyed at him. He was putting thoughts in her head that she didn't want there. _Could something have happened to Vergil? Is he all right? What if he's out there somewhere hurt...or worse..._

Amy closed her eyes at the thought of it, trying to block out the idea of it all. She reminded herself of how strong a person Vergil was, and how stubborn. He wouldn't have went out if he didn't know how to take care of himself.

"Oh my God, what's that?!" David suddenly yelled, pointing out beyond the circle of light that came from the front porch. Amy's eyes tried to focus on a patch of bushes beyond the light. Something was reflecting there, glinting wet in between two bushes. Something...white.

"VERGIL!" Amy screamed as she jumped up to dash for him. David grabbed her wrist though to hold her back.

"Don't be stupid! Whatever got him could still be around!" David tried pulling her back but she wrenched herself away from him, not noticing that cruel smile playing on his face as she made her way into the darkness.

Tears were beginning to stream from her eyes as she tried to find where she had seen Vergil, but the white was gone from the spot. She knelt down to where it was and felt something wet and warm against her palm as she touched the ground where it had been. Blood, a pool of it where she had seen Vergil only minutes before.

"VERGIL" she cried out into the night. It wasn't Vergil who responded, but a small giggle just behind the bush. As Amy stood up she noticed one of the younger kids looking at her over the hedge holding a dead white rabbit.

"Got you!" he said gleefully before taking off towards the back of the house. As Amy turned to follow him, with her red eyes, Daniel came into view again. He smiled widely at her and turned to go into the house, whistling as he went.

Amy rubbed her bloody hand on her pants before crouching down. Despite the fact it was only a twisted prank she still felt the tears coming. She had never thought about what would happen if Vergil should go away. But the prank had brought it to the surface and forced her to face her unspoken fears. _Alone..._ The revelation of it being a prank didn't calm her thoughts about where Vergil might be.

"Stupid girl"

Amy jumped as she heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned to see Vergil standing on the opposite side of the lawn.

"I TOLD you not to follow me, do you realize what time it is? Don't tell me you've been out here since..." he continued as he took long strides towards her. But Amy hadn't been listening. He didn't need to walk to her because she had flung herself around his mid section while he ranted about the time.

Vergil stood still, not saying one word as she cried into his stomach. She lifted herself up to her full height, never letting go of her hold on him, now crying just under his chin.

"Don't leave me behind again" she sobbed. "I don't want to be alone"

"Amy, let go" Vergil said after an awkward moment.

"No" Amy whispered holding tighter to him

"AMY! Let GO!" Vergil ordered. There was menace in his tone, that unbreakable authority.

"NO!" Amy yelled back at him, this time turning her face up to meet his own. For a moment she thought she saw shock in his eyes. Vergil could see she had been crying, but he was too unaware to really know why. To know the tears she had shed were for him.

Vergil stared down at her stubborn face, tear streaks making pathways from her eyes, to her cheeks, to her lips... Amy could feel his heart beat in his chest and felt warmth spread through her as she realized it was beating as fast as her own. Vergil lifted a hand and unconsciously wiped one of her tears.

"You really are a stupid girl" he said very low, his breath coming quick. Amy was lost somewhere in the blue fire of his eyes, but the flame there was too much for her to stand. She tore her eyes away and placed her head back under his chin.

"I am stupid..." she said softly chuckling. "But I'd rather be here and stupid than somewhere else and smart"

Vergil didn't respond, he almost seemed at a loss for words. He lifted his arms as if to embrace her but he hesitated, then took hold of her shoulders pushing her gently away from him. Amy looked up at his face at the loss of his warmth. Instead Vergil took her by the hand.

"It's late, and it's cold. We really should go to sleep" he said quickly, turning from her and walking towards the porch.

"What about the piano?" Amy asked trying to keep up with him

"Tomorrow night" he replied. The two walked in together, Amy gently squeezed his hand as they went. Her heart full to bursting as she felt a small squeeze in return.

Amy was amazed over the next couple of weeks at a subtle change in Vergil. She remembered their first encounter, but the boy she spent time with now seemed very much changed. He was still stubborn, arrogant, and cold but there was something very gentle about him now. He had stopped calling her "Stupid girl" and didn't mind her following him around. In fact he had begun playing for her at night, and sometimes they would play together.

Vergil had strictly forbidden her to leave his side if David was around. She had told him of the trick David had played on her. Vergil's eyes grew dark and she had heard sometime later of a small "accident" that had befallen the younger boy who had helped David. The boy wasn't hurt so much as scared whitless by something... or someone.

Whenever Amy tried to ask if Vergil had anything to do with it his answer was always the same.

"Would it make you feel better to know?"

He had grinned at her whenever he said this, knowing full well it wouldn't.

David on the other hand had seemed to take the hint. He rarely even looked at them anymore, but it was well rumored amongst the kids that David was known to call Vergil a "monster" whenever he thought it safe to do so.

"He thinks he's so clever" Vergil said as they sat outside by an old tree. "He only calls me those things because he knows I could break him in two... It would be a waste of my time too" Vergil continued as he laid back in the grass, arms tucked under his head.

Amy leaned over him.

"It doesn't hurt you? Him calling you that?"

"HA! It would take more than that to hurt me. He and I aren't even on the same level, he can't touch me. And if he tried..." Vergil picked up a dandelion and popped the weeds head off, throwing it back onto the lawn.

Amy sat in silence for a moment, watching his face. His eyes were closed and when they were she didn't feel so self conscious about looking at him.

"I don't think you're a monster" Amy said sincerely, turning before he could open his eyes and look at her. She leaned against the tree trunk closing her own eyes. She could feel him watching her, but she didn't care. It seemed like such a long time that they had a beautifully sunny day like this.

"Here" she heard Vergil say as she felt something fall into her lap. Amy looked down to see a small leathery bag. She looked up to see Vergil sitting next to her.

Amy took the small bag from her lap and undid the tie strings on it. As she turned it over a small hair comb with a light pink metallic flower, accented with opals and rose quartz jewels fell into the palm of her hand. Amy stared down at the antique and then looked up at Vergil.

"Don't get the wrong idea" he warned, not looking at her. "It was my mothers. It was one of the things I managed to recover from the house we use to live in before it burnt to the ground"

"Why are you giving it to me?" Amy asked.

"Technically I'm not... That night I was out late I went to the new place where I stashed the things I took from the house. Someone had been in there" he paused a moment. "I want you to hold onto this until I can find a good hiding place for it." Then he added quickly, still not looking at her. " You can wear it if you want to though"

Amy smiled at Vergil who still wasn't looking at her. She didn't understand him most of the time and today was no different. He seemed to hate her, and yet on more than one occasion he had surprised her with a single comment or gesture.

"Look, don't get all sentimental" he said. Amy hadn't realized how long she'd been staring at him. He took the comb from her hand and tucked it neatly into her hair. "If you lose this, I'll kill you"

"Then we'll make a deal" she said, coming out of her stupor. She reached her arms around to the back of her neck. For a moment Vergil didn't know what she was doing until she pulled a silver chain out from inside her shirt. She then leaned forward and clasped it around Vergil's neck. "This was the last thing my father gave to me." she looked up and smiled at him "You hold onto this and we'll exchange them when you find a new hiding spot for the comb"

Vergil picked up the charm at the end to examine it. It was a small silver key with a pure white stone set in the handle. "If you lose this..." Amy grinned broadly "I'll kill YOU"

"I'd like to see you try" Vergil retorted laying back down on the ground looking up into the blue sky.

By the time they decided to go in it had already grown dark. They decided to head down to the music room early that night. Vergil told her to wait by her room for him. They had been doing this ever since David had played the sick joke on Amy, mostly because Vergil didn't trust the line David had crossed on his first assault on her.

Amy went to her room to grab her sheet music and to tuck the comb Vergil had given her safely away. Vergil was not back yet as she stepped out her door, and so she waited. Waited, until she heard footsteps near the bottom of the stairs.

"Vergil?" she called out quietly, so as not to wake the other kids in the rooms around her. She got no reply, but again she heard footsteps.

Amy crept down to the stairs out of curiosity. As she hit the bottom step however she met David coming out of the dark room just beside the bottom of the stairs. She nearly collided with him and dropped her sheet music as she jumped backwards.

"What are you doing out of bed so late?" he asked casually as she bent over to retrieve her sheet music.

"Glass of water" she mumbled standing up and looking behind her for signs of Vergil.

"You need paper to get water then?". David snatched a piece of sheet music out of her hands, looking it over. "What's this? A love song for your white haired freak of a boyfriend?" He gave a cruel smile that made her take a step back.

"Please give that back" she said trying to sound stronger than she felt. She was suddenly aware of just how big he was in comparison to her.

"It is a pity, such a sweet young girl always spending her time with a monster like him" he continued, ripping the sheet in half. Amy reached out to stop him but he pushed her to the stairs. "Don't think you can touch me after being with that freak!"

Amy felt the stairs hit her back hard and for a moment she felt dazed, her eyes clouded by bright shapes that flashed in and out. When she tried to move he pushed her back down and came so close to her face she could feel his hot breath on her cheek.

"I might let you get close though, if you promise to stay away from him" he said in a coldly low and gruff voice. Her mind was still hazy, but she was very aware of how close he was. With Vergil no where in sight she did the only thing she could think of and kneed him in the groin.

Maybe he had thought her too weak to lash out at him, because his face looked very much surprised before it twisted in pain and he fell to the side. Amy scrambled onto her stomach and began climbing the stairs on all fours. She felt a hand grab her ankle and as it did her weight shifted, her face crashing into the step. She could taste blood in her mouth from where she'd bit her tongue and a sharp pain in her ribs that made her gasp.

"You BITCH, I'll kill you!" David snarled behind her.

Then there was footsteps from above. Vergil stood at the top of the steps looking down at them, and at first she felt her heart sink at the look on his face. Was he going to help her, or just leave her here? But then something happened that she would never forget. Vergil's eyes changed, something in him changed and a look of sheer burning anger etched every fasset of his face. He leapt down the stairs, bypassing them both and turning with such accurancy to pull David off of her she could've sworn he had flown into him.

Vergil ripped David across the room and wrapped his hands around his throat, squeezing. David's face twisted in agony as his face turned bright red and his eyes bulged out of their sockets. Amy stood and ran to his side, pulling on his shoulder.

"STOP VERGIL! PLEASE!" she tried coercing him, but there was something wild and raw about the boy standing before her. He was out of control, in a blind fit of rage. She heard movement upstairs.

"What's going on down there?" a voice called. Amy turned to Vergil and pulled with all her might at him, but the voice of the adult seemed to have distracted him enough for Amy to pull him away. David dropped to the floor gasping for air as Amy pulled open the front door and ran with Vergil in tow behind her.

They ran for a long time, long enough for the lights of the building behind them to be barely visable anymore. Vergil dropped to the ground heaving as Amy collapsed by his side.

"God Dammit, you stupid girl!" Vergil hissed trying to catch his breath. "What were you thinking?! You should've waited for me like I TOLD you!"

Amy couldn't catch her breath, her ribs still hurt and now her lungs were on fire from running. Her mind was reeling from the sight of Vergil almost killing someone. There was no doubt in her mind now that he could have killed David if they hadn't managed to have woken everyone in their struggle.

Vergil stood up again, still fuming, pacing back and forth. Amy sat up on her knees and watched him with a look of anger in her own eyes.

"How was I supposed to know he'd be waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs? I thought it was you waiting for me!". She realized this was the first time she'd ever risen to one of his tyrades, but couldn't he cut it out long enough to realize just how horrifying that all was for her?

"You were the one who said he made you uneasy! I said I'd come for you at your room!" he growled pointing a finger in her face. "You've been following me around school like a lost puppy, why not at night when you're even more vulnerable?"

Amy just turned and looked away from him. She was too tired, and too hurt to fight about this. But Vergil swooped down and lifted her to her feet.

"Maybe you were hoping to run into him" he said very coldly.

"What?!" Amy yelled at him incredulously. Her green eyes glaring back at his icy blue ones. "How can you even say that?"

"Isn't it obvious" he spat viciously, digging his fingers into her shoulders. "I SAW the way he was always looking at you, and damned if you don't smile for every person who looks at you. Perhaps I interrupted something when I found you two tangled at the bottom of the..."

Without thinking Amy reached out and slapped him across the face. She watched him with a mix of disgust at his comments and horror at her own actions. Her body ached, and she could still taste the blood that had been trickling down her throat since she'd been knocked down earlier. For a brief moment her slap seemed to have tamed whatever beast had been raging within him. But as he turned back to face her she saw him smile and it terrified her beyond anything she had seen tonight.

Amy backed away from him until she bumped into a tree. Vergil sat fingering his cheek that looked bright red against his pale skin in the moonlight. His eyes flashed as he looked up at her and she couldn't think of anything as he slowly closed the gap between them. There was something very carnal in his eyes that threatened her. This was not the boy who she had spoken with just hours ago. The deepness of his voice when he spoke next sent a chill down her spine.

"I never wanted any part in this you stupid girl" he said in a very deep and husky voice leaning in close to her until he was whispering in her ear. "I should've just let him take you". A hand crept up her side and made its way into her hair. Vergil pulled very tightly, forcing Amy's face to look up at his as another smile spread across his face. Amy was trembling from head to toe as she struggled to keep her voice steady.

"You could have..." she said in a breathy, quavering tone. "But you didn't. Why Vergil?" Amy started to feel light headed. He really was much too close now, so much so that her eyes strained to focus as she looked at him.

"If you think I'm going to tell you I did it because I have feelings for you then you are sorely mistaken" he said softly with a mock chuckle. "If anything I did it because I pity you... You're a poor stupid girl who always smiles and isn't even brave enough to face up to her true feelings and desires. Instead she hides herself away where no one can hurt her." Vergil eased his grip on her hair as he continued. "You are like a parasite that clings to someone stronger than you, and feeds off of them to survive"

Amy tried to push him away but the more she struggled, the tighter he pushed her against the tree. "Let me go Vergil!" she spat at him, willing the tears that threatened to spill, away. She couldn't let him see her cry. "You are so cruel!"

"But isn't this what you wanted? To know me, the REAL me? You've been so inquisitive up until now. Am I your savior, your white knight? Tell me Amy, WHO will save you from me?"

He leaned in close and this time he captured her mouth with his. Amy was so shocked all she could do was stand there, watching him wide eyed. His free hand at the small of her back pulled her in closer, leaving no room between them. Amy wanted to pull away, but the warmth spreading through her demanded more. She knew he could have easily wrapped his hands around her neck at any moment and squeezed the life from her, but he didn't. He only deepened the kiss, taking and demanding with his mouth and his body.

She didn't have the will or the strength to fight him, and while this side of Vergil scared her, she couldn't help but be drawn in by the kiss that was not so terrifying. She followed his every move, induldged in his every demand.

Amy lifted her arms to embrace him and felt her knees give way as he pulled quickly from her. She fell to the ground at his feet feeling the cold night air against her face. She looked up to find Vergil walking away from her, leaving her confused and trembling in the middle of the clearing.


	5. Electricity

**Eight pages later and we have Chapter 5! I am going to be working on refining this and previous chapters from time to time, but I'm content enough now to post this chapter. I promise you some actual action scenes in coming chapters. I've never been really good at them, so it always takes me longer to write those scenes...lol I won't post anything until I'm completely satisfied, and fight scenes are always one of my weak points 0P**

**As mentioned, I'll be going back through chapters 1-4 and doing some cleaning up. You'll notice in this chapter I have stopped using "&" per advice from readers...lol Hope it makes it a bit better to read.**

**Till Chapter 6!**

* * *

**Bleed for Me**

**Chapter 5**

Amy sat quietly on her bed, unable to meet Dante's eyes. She had never told anyone about her past and so she felt the pain anew now as she recounted it.

Dante stood and removed the cuff that held her arm to the bed.

"Thank you" Amy said quietly. She cleared her throat. "After that night Vergil refused to talk to me, and he stopped coming to the music room all together. Any attempts I made to talk to him were met with cold indifference... It was worse than before, much worse. I didn't understand what had happened, what had gone wrong." She sighed. "Luckily his influence over David held enough that he never bothered me again. A month or two later I was sent into a foster home. Vergil didn't even come to say goodbye and I hadn't seen him since until last night". Amy said. "He did return my necklace though... I found it on my pillow a few days after we fought" Amy tried her best to smile, willing herself to believe it didn't matter anymore.

"It still doesn't explain why he's after you. Vergil may hold a grudge, but he would consider something like this... well..." he looked at her nervously. "...sorry to say, but _beneath _him" he continued with an apologetic look on his face.

Amy mocked a laugh and nodded her head. "That would be the best way of putting it I guess." But she couldn't help but feel the sting of those words. "I haven't seen or heard from him in so long. I can't think of anything I could've done to provoke him now."

"Don't worry about it" Dante said, sitting beside her again. "Now you have me to look after you right? I was always the more attractive and entertaining of the two of us" he added with a wink.

Amy gave him a small smile. "So you don't have a demonic temper like your brother then?"

"Yeaahh... well about that... there's something you should know..." Dante said uncomfortably.

Dante found it difficult trying to tell a human girl about being a half demon. He was so use to the people he interacted with already at least knowing about the underworld he had been making a profit off of. While Amy had gaped at him as he explained it, she didn't freak as much as he thought she would.

"If you had told me this yesterday morning, then I might've run away screaming. But after last night..." she paused for a moment. "I guess I always sensed something different about Vergil, especially when he attacked David"

"Vergil found his powers before I did, so it's possible he might've realized his own powers after that night or had just begun to" Dante said. He watched her closely, partly trying to read her face and partly trying to find some link. It had been so long, why now? What had happened to make him come after her?

"Ahhhh!" he groaned, standing up and ruffling his hair in frustration. "This is so unlike him, he never does anything that doesn't benefit him somehow..." Dante sighed. "It's not like you've given him any reason to come after you, right?" He continued, but Amy didn't appear to hear him. Instead she had sat up and appeared to be concentrating on the wall across from her.

"Give it to me..."Amy whispered, holding her hand out before her as if to take some invisible thing hanging before her. Dante snapped around to look at her.

"I'm sorry, was that an invitation?" Dante said jokingly. Amy glared at him for a moment then stood up.

"Vergil. That's what he said to me when we were on the rooftop... He was holding his hand out and asking for..." Amy stopped on the spot.

"Ok, are you going to reach a point here somewhere, because I'm lost" Dante said.

Amy walked over to her closet and opened the door. "I never got to return it" she continued, pulling down boxes and digging through them. After a moment she pulled out a small leather pouch. Even more worn then it had been when Vergil had given it to her.

She walked over to Dante, turning the bag over as a very old comb fell into his open hand. Dante stared down at it and almost seemed to lose his balance. He sat down in a chair in the corner, staring at the comb. "This is..." he whispered.

"It was your mothers, right?" Amy said softly, standing a few steps from him. Dante nodded his head, running his fingers over the small flower. He noticed despite its age she had taken good care of it. He looked up at her after a long pause and cleared his throat.

"Oh, uhhh, well... This _could_ be why Vergil is after you, although…"

"What is it?" Amy asked when he paused.

"The Vergil you knew then was still a boy who did not know anything about his past, about where he came from. When Vergil found out he was a half demon something in him began to loathe the human in himself. In a way, then, my mother represented that human side he loathed and he tried his best to destroy anything that tied him to her."

"That's horrible!" Amy exclaimed.

"That's Vergil" Dante continued. "Understand this now and never forget it. The Vergil you knew is gone, replaced by self loathing and greed. He cares for no one but himself, and will use others, especially humans, to obtain his goals." Dante stood up and placed the comb into her hand. "Keep this safe, it is the last remaining reminder of my mother"

"You have it Dante, it was never mine to keep" Amy said pushing it towards him.

"No, it was given to you by my brother, despite what he told you then. I have my memories, and that will always be enough." Dante lifted the comb and settled it in her hair. Amy couldn't help but feel dejavu, but she smiled anyway, not knowing what to say to this.

"So, do you think Vergil could be after the comb?" Amy asked.

"Could be, but I can't see how it would benefit him unless he's out to destroy everything of my mothers." Dante said. "If that's the case then I'll just have to stop him. But for now it is getting late" Dante pointed to the window where the sun had already set. "There is a chance we'll see Vergil tonight, or perhaps he's biding his time. Either way, I plan to keep watch until that moment happens."

After a short pause Amy asked. "Why? Why would you help me?"

"Well" Dante paused, eyeing her. The question had taken him a bit by surprise, but she had a point. After all, he had no obligations to this girl, and could've never began looking for her at all. If she had wanted a simple answer he couldn't think of any. "Well, you could say my brother and I don't see eye to eye".

"Ya think?" Amy said, cocking her head to one side with a mock smile.

"Ok, ok, we mostly hate each others guts, but that is not here nor there. Vergil tends to become trouble when he gets focused on things. Trouble for me that is." Dante had a bitter thought for the smallest of seconds. Something about being his brothers keeper, but he shrugged it off as he continued.

"If he's not trying to bring hell and damnation to your world, then he is normally trying to resurrect some great evil in mine. You can't believe how nice it is when he is quiet, and how maddening. If I can say one thing about Vergil, it is that he is determined. If one thing fails he is off to find the next solution"

"But what made you even come looking after me?" Amy pressed. "How did I come into this equation?"

"By accident, really" Dante added as Amy gave him a disbelieving look. "This time, for whatever reason, Vergil has become sloppy. He actually left a very important document at the last place he was holding up, although…" Dante grinned widely. "It's almost as if he was challenging me to try and stop him"

"Don't tell me, it had my name on it?" Amy said, rolling her eyes at him. Dante's eyes lit up playfully.

"No, not your name. It had some names scrawled on it, but yours was not one of them. Although it did have an address. One that lead me to your very doorstep" Dante grinned at the look on her face, it was so fun getting humans riled up. "So" He continued. "I knew that potentially the person who lived at this address might've had something to do with Vergil and so I followed you. I admit I was never good at, well, _not_ standing out" Dante gave a brilliantly toothy smile. Amy tried politely to sustain her composure, but a snort of laughter managed to slip out.

"Ahem… So, as I was saying, I followed you. Kept an eye out for Vergil and of course was brilliantly disappointed until the other night. That's why I approached you. I figured I would bring up Vergil to you and make my next move depending on your reaction. Perhaps Vergil had been watching you too and my presence provoked him into action"

Amy stood looking at him for a moment. "Well, at any rate, I am thankful. I mean, I do appreciate you doing this" She said sincerely.

Dante's smile widened. "Alright, go ahead" Dante said closing his eyes.

"W-what?" Amy asked.

"Kiss me. The moment seems right" He replied without opening his eyes.

"You're doing it again" Amy said.

"Doing what?" He asked, eyes opening.

"Acting like a perverted teenager" She replied.

"I AM a perverted teenager! Well, kind of… Give or take a few years…" Dante stumbled as he watched Amy walking off towards the bathroom. "Hey!"

Amy suddenly felt the way she looked. Her clothes had dirt on them. Her arms had rust marks from when she had climbed the ladder, and her one foot was dirty from when Dante had pulled her shoe off. Lost in her own world while recounting her story to Dante she hadn't even noticed she looked like she'd been playing in a mud pile.

She headed towards the bathroom when she heard heavy foot steps behind her. She turned around to see Dante following.

"You stay" she said as if she were talking to a dog.

"Protector, remember?" Dante said.

"I'm going into the bathroom though" Amy replied.

"I know" Dante said with a smirk on his face.

"Want to go for an even 6?" she threatened glaring at him. Dante shrugged his shoulders and sat by the door.

"I won't come in, but what if Vergil attacks you while you're in the shower?" Dante smiled as Amy's cheeks turned bright red. "Exactly, I'll be right here if you need me".

Amy closed her eyes for a second and then marched past him into the bathroom, making sure she locked it behind her. She walked to the sink, sat the comb down on the counter, and began looking at her image in the mirror. She had grit on her face and hair. Normally she might've been amused by the sight of herself, but she didn't feel much like laughing. She stripped off her dirty shirt and immediately her eyes were caught by the necklace at her throat. The same necklace she'd given to Vergil. The one he'd given back to her without a word.

_Maybe he's mad he never took the comb back. _She thought as she turned the water on and leaned over to splash the cold water on her face. She tried to imagine Vergil's face, but every time she tried his demon form cut through it. _Is he still mad at me? Even so, what did I do to make him so angry that night? _

The thought had haunted her over the years. Did he really think that she and David would…? Her skin crawled for a moment at the thought. But her mind turned to Vergil's kiss. She felt her cheeks flush, despite the cold water she was splashing on her face. He had initiated it. What did it mean? Could he have possibly liked her?

_He cares for no one but himself, and will use others, especially humans, to obtain his goals._

But that was before Vergil knew about his powers. Before he began hating the part of himself that had been one of the only friends she had ever had. Even if he would never admit it. Things had been somewhat simple before he came along. Even now, after all this time, she still didn't know what it was she had felt for him.

She had seen him for the longest time as the brother she had missed. She had no family left, no one to cling to. So in a way she longed for someone to fill that void, and Vergil had unwillingly done so. The kiss had confused her though. The fact that she couldn't talk to Vergil about it had only made it worse.

_What do I do now? _She hadn't thought this much about her past in so long. She'd learned to block it out like everything else.

----------

Outside of the room Dante sat on the floor by the bathroom door. The cocky grin had left his face, replaced by one of deepest thought. The more he found out the more he didn't like this situation.

Whatever Vergil wanted Dante was sure of one thing. The odds Vergil would let the girl live weren't good. Even if they had some morbid childhood friendship, it was likely to mean nothing as far as Vergil was concerned now.

He was, after all, out to get his brother. Yet the human in him felt the urge to protect those innocents that fell into the path of destruction Vergil had started all those years back. Amy was simply one of them, although, he still couldn't figure out how.

He couldn't deny though that something was very strange about this all. Vergil, for example, had let her go when he'd had an open chance to take her up on the roof. He even had saved her from falling that first time. The image of Vergil's shocked face as he looked at her had bothered him since it had happened. Perhaps though, he had understood.

It was he who had caught Amy as she plummeted to the ground when Vergil dropped her. The moment his arms had wrapped under her, he too, had almost dropped her. It had happened again when she'd woken from her nightmare hours later. He'd felt a shock, a spark of something he'd never felt before. It was like pure adrenaline spreading to every limb in his body. Similar to the feeling he got when he transformed, but strangely different. Electric lightning magnifying his senses, making him cling to her as if she were source of the current.

Yet, he couldn't seem to duplicate it. He had touched her when she'd kicked him and felt nothing at all. Perhaps Vergil had done something to her? Whatever it was having ebbed away after her fall, after her nightmare? She had been freaked out enough, so he had decided not to mention it to her until he knew more about it.

If he had been smart he might've tried to find out more about her. But upon first glance he didn't feel it was necessary. She was human, so if anything he didn't feel the need to. Now he would probably need to dig a little deeper. Even more so, get her out of this place. Vergil knew where to find her, and it would only be a matter of time before he came back.

_Take her back to my cheap motel… _It was a playful joke, but still he grimaced at the thought. Listening as he heard her moving around just on the other side of the wall.

Dante listened to the water running inside the bathroom. The drone of it was making him feel tired and stupid. It had been a long night, and an even longer day. Learning about Vergil, about what he'd done after their mom died, had been somewhat draining.

It was easier to fight Vergil with the memories of his cruelties burned into his mind, fueling his fire. Hearing about a Vergil who was geeky enough to give a girl a hair comb, his _mother's _hair comb, was too much. Yet, it had made him inwardly smile at the thought of a Vergil who wasn't hell bent on destruction. Even if he still had some anger management problems.

Dante got up and started walking around the small living room. He began looking through drawers for anything that might help give him some background. As he left her desk he thought he felt… someone watching him. Dante turned to find pictures hanging on the wall and on a small table beneath it. Dante reached out and picked up the one nearest to him.

The one that had caught his eye was a picture of who he guessed was a younger Amy, sitting in front of a piano. She was turned slightly, and smiling at the camera. The kind of happy smile that only children could give. So blissfully ignorant and yet beautiful in its fragility. Dante's eyes strayed to the one that was sitting next to it. There was Amy, most likely in her later teens, and an older woman with their arms over each others shoulders.

Up on the wall, side by side, were two photos most likely taken before she'd been sent to the orphanage. In one, a much younger Amy, was holding tightly to a small boy with jet black hair and light blue eyes. Their arms were wrapped around one another, and again, those fragile smiles were very much apparent. The photo next to it, framed by a silver frame, was a picture of a couple. The woman had dark hair, laying lazily over one shoulder. The contrast of her dark hair, and amazingly pale skin only made the green of her eyes show more vibrantly in the old photo. She was turned inward and holding hands with a man a head taller than she. His auburn hair wasn't quite the tint of Amy's, but it was close. His blue eyes twinkled as he paid the camera no mind, looking at the woman before him as if there were no one else there. _These must be her parents._

Yet she had gone to the orphanage, so obviously they were gone now. In his minds eye he could see a very young Amy, coming to the strange place that would be her new home. Clutching a worn suitcase, the fragile smile now broken with the knowledge there was no one left.

_Alone. _Dante had known the loss of a parent all too well. When he thought of it, he too had lost a father, mother, and brother just like her. Except his brother was gone now in memory more than spirit. He had never known his father, but it had never mattered much. His mother had always been enough for him. The sight of the flowered comb had momentarily brought back old memories and for once left him speechless.

Dante turned and glanced around at the small apartment. It had a very lived in, homey feel to it. Dante himself had never felt at home anyplace he'd lived in. Even if he stayed there for years. He envied the small place and wondered if he would ever find a place he could consider home again.

At this thought he heard the door open and Amy appeared out of a cloud of steam, drying her face. He couldn't help but smile a bit at the flannel pajamas she wore with penguins all over them.

"I overdid it with the water" she said, realizing the cloud that loomed after her.

"It's Ok, you were pretty dirty" he said shrugging, avoiding her glare as he turned to point at the picture on her wall. "These your parents?"

Amy walked over towards the picture and nodded. Dante stared at her, as if waiting for her to tell him something more, but Amy said nothing.

"How did they die?" Dante pressed.

"I don't remember" she said evasively, tossing the towel into a basket and walking off towards the kitchen. Dante followed after her.

"It won't help you to know anything" Amy said with her back to Dante. At that exact moment Dante had opened his mouth to press the matter further. "Please, just let it go for now, OK?"

"They say it helps to talk about it" he said with a smirk, but Amy kept her back to him.

"In this case it doesn't." she said flatly. A long tense minute followed as Dante just gazed at the back of her head. She really was stubborn, and he knew he couldn't force the information out of her while she was so on edge. He tried calming his voice.

"I know it's hard, I lost family too, but I can't help you unless you trust me." Even Dante was impressed with how soft his tone was, even more so when it didn't work.

"I don't _need _your help!" she said, her voice suddenly switching from pleading to scathing. _What the fuck? _How had he hit upon a nerve? She wasn't standing with her back to him anymore. She was facing him with a hard look in her eyes. She looked hard, but her voice quavered. She reminded him of a cornered animal. One too small to scare anyone, but doing it's best to protect itself. _What is it she's protecting?_

"Well then" Dante paused, leaning against the doorway. "We had better go then". Without giving her a chance to argue, he turned from the door, walked through the living room, and into her bedroom.

He began pulling open drawers, and when Amy came in he tossed a bag at her.

"What are you doing?!" she asked as he began tossing her clothes onto her bed.

"We're leaving. Pack _only_ what you need." He was almost shocked at the coldness in his voice just then, but her nerve wasn't the only one touched. _Don't need my help huh? Didn't need to drag my ass all the way out here to save yours, missy… _He felt the growl in his throat, but tried to suppress it. He couldn't let his emotions take over, not if he was going to follow through with this. That was, until he felt something hit his back, and the bag that had been in Amy's hand now laid at his feet.

There she stood by the door, giving him the kind of look most any man would cower from. _Good thing I'm not only a man…_

"I've had about enough of the attitude. Stop acting like a spoiled child and hurry up before I leave your sorry ass here for Vergil". He was dead serious too, at least about the anger this girl was forcing out of him. He may have seemed the nice guy, but every man has their limits.

But Amy didn't answer him, only began picking up her clothes and attempted to put them back in the drawer. She didn't look at him, or try to push him out of the way. Just set to the task as if he weren't even there.

"Look" Dante said in annoyance. He grabbed her wrist to prevent her from placing the clothing into the drawer, and when he did she lashed out at him with her other hand. All too familiar now with her love of injuring him, Dante leaned backwards to avoid her, then grabbed a hold of her as she swung around, missing him. He held her arms down at her side as she struggled.

"Dante, don't!" she yelled at him as he tried, with success, to restrain her. Yet, the more he held her, the wilder her attempts became to get free. Like she had when he had tried to prevent her from climbing the ladder to the rooftops, kicking, and now even biting.

"Well now, that's not nice" he said in a mock tone as she tried, with much difficulty, to bite him. He was after all standing _behind _her. Yet her foot didn't seem to care about this trivial detail, as the back of her foot could very easily slam down onto the front of his. Dante felt the pain all the way to his kneecap. "GOD DAMMIT!" he seemed to roar. If she hadn't been struggling so much she might've felt the walls vibrate with the echo of his scream.

Dante lifted her up, his arms leaving her hands and holding her around the middle, and body slamming her onto the mattress. Just then, before they even hit the bed, it happened again.

Pure electricity shot through him, making every limb, every sense come to life. She seemed to have not noticed at all, only glowering up at him as he trapped her, hands and all, beneath his weight. He stared down at her, his eyes growing wide at the feeling. Warmth was spreading through him even as she thrashed like a mad woman under him to get free.

Dante's head felt hazy, but his body was more than alert.

"Dante, please!" Amy pleaded. Her voice sounded distant. _I should probably let her go. _But there was another voice there. He was clinging to her as he had before, knowing with certainty that the feeling he was experiencing would leave him when he did let her go. So this knew knowledge overruled his common sense. His need to protect gone from his head.

"Shhhhh" Dante purred down at her as her resolve seemed to weaken, but the fear in her eyes was very much clear as he draw nearer. He held her from head to toe, his legs intertwined with hers. He could feel her breathing as if it were his own, the heave of her chest as it rose and fell under him. There was only one part left to connect. He heard Amy whimper as he touched his lips to her own and completed the contact.


	6. Alone

**Whoot! This chapter took a lot outta me, but so far it's my favorite. Hopefully, you guys will like it too! **

**Again, I want to thank you guys. I can't express how happy it makes me to see you guys are enjoying the things my crazy mind comes up with! lol Also, to see pleas for more! Funnier still is my habit of using "&" while on the computer actually has stopped! Oo Haven't used it since I began writing using "and" for the stories...lol I can definitely feel something changing about my writing, and I have your constructive criticism to thank for it. :) **

**Also, a note for the readers, because I figured this would be important to help understand the ending of this chapter. This story takes place prior to DMC3. About a year or so (their comment that they "haven't met in a year" in the game.) So Dante is powerful, but he's not "awoken" yet. Keep that in mind.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Bleed for Me**

**Chapter 6**

The room was deathly quiet despite the two people currently in it. The tense moment between them as heated as the girl's flushed cheeks.

Amy sat on the bed, arms wrapped around her legs, as if they were walls of a fortress. One meant to prevent another attack to her senses. Her lip was bleeding slightly from where Dante had bitten it in his moment of insanity.

Dante was on the opposite side of the room, crouching down with his back up against the wall to support his weight. His eyes were blank, staring at a spot on the floor. His mind a total haze of images from moments earlier. Had it been only moments? It had seemed like so much longer.

Dante didn't know what to say to the girl who wouldn't look at him. She was embarrassed, of course, but was she fearful? A ball of guilt was forming in his abdomen, which he welcomed to help quell the storm that had been raging there. He could still feel something flowing through him, it was ebbing now. Much like an addict might feel when coming down off a high, and much the same as the shame and guilt of what he had done took hold again.

He had lost control of himself. He had _never _lost control before, and it had frightened him. He didn't want to move, afraid he might sense something from her and react. He had felt lust before, plenty of times, but this was different. There was greed in what he had done. It wasn't the give and take of two lovers, but an inner need to fulfill only him and abandon all reason.

Worse still, as he sat on the floor shivering, he knew only one thing. He had enjoyed it, had relished in the power he felt. Enjoying a woman's touch, and enjoying domination over her was another thing. He felt invaded. Like some foreign thing had taken him over, used him to get what it wanted, and left him to deal with the consequences.

Dante looked over at Amy, still curled up on the bed.

"Amy, I..." he started, but faltered. He couldn't tell if it was fear, or if it was emptiness in her eyes as she stared across the room at him. They sat looking at one another for another couple of minutes. Dante thinking hard of what he might say to make everything better.

"I'm sorry." It was all he could come up with, and he said it with deep sincerity. Maybe that was why Amy dropped her arms from her legs and seemed to lose her blank stare. Eyes no longer just staring at him, but actually focusing on him. "Something...happened to me." He continued.

Amy sat normally on the bed, her eyes downcast. The room was dark now, where moments earlier a single nightstand light had illuminated the two forms that for a few minutes seemed one. Now though the lamp was on the floor in pieces, and the moon outside shown through the window, illuminating the girl. The shadows that played across her downcast face, Dante noticed, made her look older somehow. Then she spoke.

"I've grown tired..." her voice was barely audible. "...of hiding. Of being afraid, and of thinking that I could be anything more than I am."

"Amy" Dante started, but she threw a hand up.

"You are like a parasite that clings to someone stronger than you, and feeds off of them to survive..." Amy's voice sounded haunted as her suddenly deadened eye met Dante's. "I hear that in my head every time I can have a clear thought, you know? I know I'm weak, and I know I seek out others, but DAMNIT!" her voice suddenly raised. "Don't we all deserve someone? My family died before my very eyes." She paused, eyes looking away. "I didn't know how to go out into the world and not be with other people! Was it so awful to need someone? To feel connected to the world by another person?". Amy cast her face back into the shadow. No tears left her eyes, but Dante knew she felt them just the same.

Amy turned to him, uncoiling her legs and approaching him to kneel down in front of him. Dante seemed to shiver as she approached, but whatever had gripped him had passed. No more than a memory now as her green eyes, darkened by the shadows, looked at him.

"When you have no one you feel almost alien. Shut out from the world you were born into. I clung to Vergil because he was the first someone to need me. Even if he never said it, I gave him my music and all I wanted in return..." she paused, lip trembling. "All I wanted was...him. To talk with me, to be by his side and feel like I wasn't alone anymore".

Dante studied her face for a long moment. She didn't seem to notice him anymore as she sank down onto the floor in front of him. She looked broken, and it was a sad thing to see. Perhaps she was use to putting on a strong face, haunted by Vergil's words, and the stress of it all was cracking the shell, chipping away years of self damage.

Dante reached out to her and made her look at him. His face was hard, but not without understanding. "Everyone feels alone, and some people genuinely are. But only you can change it if you really want it. I don't know why you feel the need to shut the world out, but if you truly felt helpless, so lacking in life" he smiled as he continued. "Then you wouldn't have put up such a fight to keep it when you thought I was after you" He absentmindedly caressed her cheek. There was something in her eyes that spoke of familiarity. He had learned at a young age to live alone, to take care of himself. It wasn't a lesson easily learned considering he had come from a close knit family. Life could be cruel to the abandoned, the forgotten. Himself finding his brother was still alive, only to have his brother try and kill him.

That had been his hardest lesson of all. To live with the knowledge that one day he or his brother would die by each others hands. And as he looked at the broken child before him he suddenly saw himself. A young Dante, found in tears after witnessing his mothers death who didn't know what to do, or what would happen next.

He pulled her quiet form into his own, and felt the air lift as she crumbled in his arms. Her body quivered as her stubbornness gave way to unbridled agony, pent up tears and frustration releasing as she sobbed against him.

"I hated him!" she sobbed. "Hated him for leaving me like that. For making me bitter, and for making me feel worthless for so damn long!". Her body wracked with grief, and Dante felt her hands as they gripped onto the back of his coat. He only stroked her hair, knowing this was better for her than anything he could say. She had held onto Vergil's memory for so long, lying to herself about what she felt, and blaming herself for him shutting her out of his life. It was the same realization Dante had to eventually come to. The cruel notion that those we love aren't always the people who love us in return. That sometimes, memories are all we are allowed to have.

It had taken a long time for her to realize that maybe it was Vergil's fault. Took for her to see what Vergil might've become if things had been different, possibly someone like Dante. He could've had that life, side by side with his brother. But he had chosen to be evil. Just as he had chosen to push her away.

Amy felt her body relaxing, cradled in the arms of a stranger who had taken care of her. A man who, under normal circumstances, she would've passed on the street without a second thought. She suddenly thought of the bus driver, about people like him who could be so open to others. How she had envied him, wishing for that youthful bliss that everyone wasn't out to get her. To leave her. But even as she looked up into the softness of Dante's face she couldn't let that go. He too would go away in the end, and she would still be here. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, the waves of tears ebbing. Leaving only streaks over her cheeks as evidence.

She lifted her face up to Dante's and felt his fearful gaze on her. But she only pecked him lightly on the lips in gratitude. When she pulled away she smiled slightly at the redness in his cheeks. "Thank you".

Dante felt the warmth creep into his face, but with an overdone cough he managed to mumble "You're welcome".

-----------

The bar was empty as he entered. He didn't even flinch as he walked over the door that lay at his feet, practically jumping in its effort to avoid his blade seconds earlier. Vergil's boots crunched over broken glass as he made his way towards the bartop. Behind it was a large mirror running the length of the bar and as he gazed at his image reflected in it he scowled.

Vergil clicked his tongue mockingly. "This is no way to treat a customer" he said to the empty room. Silence followed these words, only the occasional creaks of the old building could be heard. Then, with lightning precision Vergil plunged his Yamato blade into the bar and a loud shriek of pain was heard on the other side.

Vergil leapt over the bar and knelt to find a man holding his thigh as blood flowed freely from it. He had concealed himself in a makeshift cupboard just behind the bar. He had opened it in an attempt to escape.

"I told you not to toy with me" Vergil growled at the man. Vergil grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him out and to his feet as he man only stuttered, trying to reply.

"I-I-I wasn't V-V-Vergil" he said pleadingly. Vergil let his free hand drift down and pressed his fingers deep into the crimson wound, and the man let out an agonizing scream.

"You've made me soil both my blade, and now my hand with your noxious blood. Don't make me tell you again". His eyes flashed crimson for a moment.

"OK OK! J-J-Just let me down!" he gasped. Vergil dropped him to the floor and he screamed again as his leg was forced out of habit to break his fall. The man panted as he looked up at the dark figure before him with both loathing and fear.

"So tell me, what have you found out?" Vergil asked, taking a towel from the counter and wiping his blade clean. When he finished he dropped it onto the floor. The man quickly replaced his hand with the towel over his wound to try and stop the bleeding.

"It's not so easy. You and that brother of yours scared all my..." He paused. "_customers _away. As soon as they heard you hit town they made themselves scarce... BUT WAIT!" He yelled as Vergil pressed his blade against his other leg. "I didn't say I didn't find out anything... Just not as much as you would've hoped".

Vergil leered at him, then dropped quickly down to crouch before him. "You had better hope..." he grinned as he turned his blade, tip down, back and forth into the man's pant leg. "That it is the RIGHT information"

---------

Amy and Dante were no longer in the bedroom. They were sitting at the kitchen table. In the after math of, what seemed to them, both of their total breakdowns, Amy seemed to feel a bit more open. Dante waited patiently, sitting across from her.

"Forgive me if my memory seems to get foggy" she said, shattering the silence in the room. "But, despite my age at the time I don't remember a lot about my past. Or at least I've blocked a large portion of it out"

Dante sat back in the chair, eyeing her just the same. "That's fine, just tell me what you do remember". He had asked her about her parents again. He had thought the strange feelings that had overtaken him had been caused by something Vergil had done to her. Yet, Vergil wasn't present just now. He sensed no demon in her, nothing but humanity. Yet, he was sure whatever it was that had gripped him, she _was _the source. So it only seemed natural to know more about her birth parents.

"Well, I lived with my parents and my younger brother" she paused for a moment, eyes concentrating on the table top.

"Was there, uh... Anything unusual about them?" Dante pressed when she seemed to falter.

"N-no, not that I'm aware of. They were normal parents, if not a little overprotective. My brother and I rarely left our house. We were schooled at home by my mother, and so Nathan an I were eachothers only playmates. In the end though, I guess they had good reason to be overprotective."

"Why's that?" Dante asked.

"The night they died, people I had never seen before came to the house. My dad told me to hide. I did. I hid in this old secret room he had down the cellar. He told me my brother was on his way down but..." A shadow passed over her face. "He um, he never made it".

Amy saw it all over again. The sound of her mothers screams from above, the shots that were fired. And as she peered through the door of the room she was hiding she saw her brother running down the stairs, only to be shot halfway down. The disgusting noise of his fall down the rest of the stairs, and his wide eyes focused on the door where she stood in horror, and fear. The blood that drained onto a pool on the floor.

"Whoever they were, I never did find out, they took my parents and Nathan's bodies with them. I fled the house after they left, and wandered aimlessly for days." Amy sighed and took a sip of the water before her. "For the longest time I was afraid whoever they were would come for me. I had some horrible nightmares in the time afterward. It's what kept me up late at night in the music room when Vergil first found me" Amy looked up to see Dante glowering at the table.

"What is it?" She asked.

Dante glanced up at her, debating on how to ask his next question. "Let's see... Well, what just happened in the room..." He watched her, and while her cheeks seemed a bit pink, she gave no indication that he couldn't continue. "When I said something happened to me, I meant that _you _did something to me. It's not the first time either..." he continued. "I thought that maybe it would have something to do with your parents, but if they are as normal as you say then it's gotta be something else."

Amy was looking down at her cup, but Dante couldn't help but notice the twinge of curiosity and laughter in her tone as she asked him. "What did I _do _to you exactly?" Now it was his turn to glower at her. She looked at him wide eyed with the makings of a grin, that she was having trouble hiding. "Well! I think I should know, so I don't do it again right?". Dante just rolled his eyes at her and sighed. He really did not want to relive that moment just now.

"We should get going" he said pointedly. "We can discuss this more once we have you someplace else". He glowered at the smugness on her face as she got up.

"Ok then, I'll go get dressed and we can go". She got up and walked past him heading towards the bedroom. Within 15 minutes they were back out on the streets and Amy stopped dead as Dante turned them into an alley close by.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Amy stared wide eyed at Dante who smiled as he uncovered the shiny motorcycle.

"Beauty, ain't she?" he said proudly, tossing a helmet her way.

"This is our transportation?! I-I'm not getting on that thing". She let the helmet hang limply from her hand.

"Of course you are, its pretty fun. Who knows, it might knock off some of the ice on your shoulder" he grinned as he lifted a leg over to sit on it.

"Ha ha, very funny. Well, what if I _do _something to you while we're riding it? Can't risk getting too close right?" Amy said, but Dante could tell she was fishing for excuses.

"Well, if you should feel the urge then we'll both crash and die horrible deaths. Which could save us both a lot of time and effort" He smirked at her over his shoulder as she crossed her arms and glared at him. He tapped the seat behind him with his hand. "C'mon babe, room for two"

Amy stood still for a long moment, making sure she got in a good scowl before pulling the helmet on and walking to stand next to the bike. She looked very much out of her element as she attempted to figure out how to get on it.

"I take it you've never ridden on one of these before?" Dante said with a tone of amusement in his voice as she almost sat on it backwards in her attempts to get on. "Here, let me help". He got off and lifted her onto the thing in a quick movement that caused her much discomfort.

"I'm going to be walking like a man for weeks" she said, trying to make herself comfortable. _Impossible... _"This is worse than riding a horse". Dante got on in front of her, adjusting her legs just behind his own.

"Hmmm, I take it you don't ride often then" He asked. Amy was about to answer when she saw the evil glint in his turned eyes and caught his meaning. She pursed her lips and pulled the face guard down over her face. "Well then, this should be a new experience for you. Hold on tight".

As he revved the bike up, which she was sure he was doing for her benefit... _Jerk ..._ she felt a sudden lurch as he purposely forced it forward quickly. She clung onto him as if there was no tomorrow in her fear, and she felt, rather than heard, his chest heaving as he laughed at her reaction. "I told you to hold on tight!" he yelled over the engine.

"Bite me!" she spat at him.

"Ahahaha... you wish"

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing" With that Dante pulled slowly towards the open street at the end of the alleyway. He knew very well that they were exposed, and even more so that Vergil could be following them. But Dante would rather have Vergil in his element. He didn't want to think of what might occur if Vergil were to declare war inside Amy's apartment building. He had to not only get her far away, but get Vergil as far as he could to prevent any unnecessary casualties.

Things seemed to be going well enough as Dante made it to the edge of the city. But he knew he couldn't yet let his guard down. Once out of the cover of the streets and buildings there would be miles of open roads.

As if reading his thoughts, he felt Amy's palms press into his ribcage. He couldn't see her, but he felt her head bobbing against his shoulder blade. No doubt hiding her face from the blur of color that seemed to bleed together as they passed them. He sighed heavily and her hands faltered for a moment, as if she remembered it was another person she clung to for support. The memory of the room hit him again. Her hands in about the same place, only pushing him away from the front. He swallowed hard and tried to clear his mind. She hadn't done anything to him, but in his sane moments he couldn't help but remember the sensation.

_Dante... Please... _She had pleaded with him, but his mind was wiped blank.

_Shhhh... _The sound had escaped his throat in a low breathy tone. He had leaned over and kissed her very softly, languidly. The kind of kiss that made him feel sleepy with the pleasure of it. In the moment his lips touched hers he felt something snap in his brain. Whatever it was the voice had been telling him, it had been egging him on for that contact. And while she had resisted, while her arms had tried to push him away, the way she had pressed herself into him had spoken louder than anything else.

She seemed to have gone insane as well. Soon her arms were around his back, and her legs were cradling him. Somehow it had seemed like she was that inner voice, the one demanding. It hadn't helped to feel her writhing beneath him.

_Ahhh, stop it! Stop it! Think of nuns...frumpy old nuns._

Dante could feel the sweat on the back of his neck, even at the thought. _Damn summer nights. _What he wouldn't give for a sudden cold downpour. _Really cold..._

"Are you OK?" Amy yelled over his shoulder, the face guard now up.

"Y-yeah, why?"

"Because you're crushing my hand!"

Dante looked down and noticed he was holding onto her hand with a vice like grip. _When did that happen? _He let go with a muffled sorry. When his eyes met the road ahead of him he suddenly swerved as he caught Vergil in the beam of his headlight.

He turned the bike with such urgency that the bike fishtailed into the spot where Vergil had been standing. When it came to a stop Dante drew his guns and looked around. There was very little light out here and Dante couldn't see Vergil anymore. Even so, he knew he was there.

"Stay close" Dante whispered to Amy out of the corner of his mouth. He stepped off the bike slowly, turning to scan the area around them. _This is as good a place of any to finish this. _Somewhere in the darkness around them a deep chuckle penetrated the silence.

"Ammmyyy" a voice called mockingly from all sides of the blackness. "Is this any way to treat...an old friend?" Vergil suddenly flew out from behind Amy, and Dante turned with lightning quick reflexes to meet him. Before he could even touch them Dante pulled his sword. The sword appeared so quickly Amy was sure it had materialized from thin air, and as their blades met in the ray of the headlight Amy felt a cold chill up her spine.

"You gotta be quicker than that Vergil" said Dante, sword held out before him. Vergil didn't even bat an eye at his brother.

Amy couldn't believe her eyes. She hadn't gotten a really good look at Vergil on the roof due to how fuzzy her eyes had been, but now she felt her blood run cold as Vergil towered before her. Dante had been right, she knew it at a glance that this was not the Vergil she'd known. Every move he made spoke of cruelty, the same cruelty she had once seen in David, but magnified and fine tuned.

If she had not known Vergil and Dante were twins then she might have never guessed. They had the same features, but Vergil had a hardness about him that Dante's boyishness never seemed to get. Even when he was angry, there was always a flicker of humanity in his eyes... _That must be it. _Amy thought to herself. Whatever humanity she had once cared for in him was gone. The thought of it made her stomach churn. _He's gone... Vergil is gone forever. Replaced by this..._

"You sure do have an annoying habit of getting in my way Dante" Vergil said coldly, pushing Dante back and coming in again for another attack. Dante once again met his blade. It was like watching a mirror image fighting with itself. "I'll let you go if you hand her over. What's one more useless human to you anyway? _Unfortunately_ there are quite a few of them out there if you haven't noticed. You could always find a replacement for her"

Dante chuckled, a feisty glint in his eye as he pushed Vergil off him and stepped in front of Amy, blocking her from Vergil's view.

"Tell me brother. Have you found one yet?" Dante's smile widened as Vergil narrowed his eyes coldly. As quickly as his eyes narrowed, they quickly turned upward as a smirk spread across Vergil's stark face.

"I see... She's gotten to you already then?" Vergil lowered his Yamato. "Why am I even surprised? You were never very strong to begin with. Felt the shock yet?" Vergil's eyes lit up maliciously as Dante's normally calm face gave away the answer he had already expected. "Oh well, it doesn't matter now, does it?"

Vergil disappeared and reappeared above them. With a fluid motion he brought the blade down to where they were standing. Dante grabbed Amy and pulled her away as Vergil cut the bike in two. Dante flew at him, grabbing one end of the bike and throwing it at Vergil.

"You owe me a new bike fucker!" Dante hissed as he shot a bullet at the airborne bike, hitting the gas tank and causing a large explosion where Vergil stood rigid. But as the smoke cleared Vergil emerged unscathed, a dark figure accented against the white clouds billowing around him.

Vergil flew at Dante again, and just as the two of them were to meet he suddenly vanished. Dante turned, and as he did so he felt something cold down by his navel. He looked down just in time to see the Yamato blade slice through his skin, pressing forward to rip open his insides.

"NO!!" Amy screamed, running forward and launching herself on Vergil. Dante dropped to his knees as Vergil removed the blade. He grabbed a hold of Amy, who was pulling at his neck, scratching at his throat from behind, and flipped her over onto his fallen brother.

Amy fell onto her back next to Dante, her back screaming with the pain. She turned to Dante, who had a look of bewilderment on his face. He gave her a small smirk.

"G-get out of here" he whispered as she gazed down at him.

"No!" she said stubbornly. She heard Vergil approaching from behind and her hands clasped over the hilt of Dante's fallen sword. She turned, standing before fear itself.

"What is this?" Vergil mused, sheathing his blade. "Don't tell me you're going to protect him?" Vergil let out a mirthless laugh. "You couldn't protect anything"

"Fuck you!" she growled at him. She knew her position was grim, but something had snapped when she saw Dante fall. She was tired of running, and if she was going to die then it was going to be standing up. Not cowering.

"Well then... If you're going to do it, then do it" Vergil said, opening his coat and stepping forward, pressing the tip of the sword against his stomach. "If you can"

Amy stood shaking, looking up into the face of death. She could feel his weight as he pressed closer to her against the sword. The closer he walked at first, the more her arms trembled. _Don't let him win! _Her mind was screaming at her to do it, to run him through.

"You want to play with the big boys, you'd better be prepared to get dirty you stupid girl" Vergil said coldly as he placed a hand on the blade to take it. But something clicked in Amy's mind as she pulled backwards and plunged the blade into the blue folds of Vergil's shirt. She felt she might vomit as the noise of metal scraping against bone, and the smell of blood as it soaked out, staining his shirt purple as it mixed with the blue.

Vergil's eyes bulged as he looked down at Amy. He certainly had never expected for her to do it, but now he would know better. His shock subsided as a evil smile spread across his face. With the blade still embedded in his entrails he took hold of it and pulled it towards him, forcing it deeper into himself and drawing a petrified Amy towards him.

"How does it feel?" he cooed. "To kill?" Amy trembled in horror as he neared her. The sword made a sickening squelching noise as the tip emerged from his back. Vergil made a final press forward with a painful yell of triumph.

"NO!" Amy screamed. The Vergil she knew was gone. The scream she heard was not for the pain she was inflicting upon him, but because of the sudden snapping noises she heard as his body contorted in transformation. His skin was turning a scaly blue, his nails were splitting his fingers to curl into claws. Darkness fell over his icy eyes, leaving red pits in their wake, and huge wings fluttered out behind him. Amy let go of the sword and stumbled backwards, still blocking Dante in some weak attempt to protect him.

"Amy! Get OUT of here NOW!" Dante yelled, clutching at the wound in his side, blood dripping from one corner of his mouth.

The creature before her grinned wickedly at the sight before him. He flexed his powerful claws and muscles as if he'd just discovered them. He pulled the blade from his stomach like a hot knife through butter and tossed it to the ground before advancing towards them.

"GO NOW! I'll handle Vergil!" Dante pleaded, trying to stand.

Amy stood between them. Watching Vergil approaching in slow motion, fangs bared as his dead eyes looked ready to kill. Amy closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

"If I go with you willingly... Do you promise to let your brother go?" Amy said suddenly as Vergil drew equal to her. Vergil stopped and looked at her.

"What's this?" Vergil's normally soft cold tone was now grated, as if he had swallowed glass. "I don't make deals. You'll come with me either way, whether you come willingly or I take you by force". The irony of the unbreakable authority he oozed now, reminding her of the boy this man once was, made Amy smile through her trembling.

"But, wouldn't it be easier for you if I came willingly"

Vergil said nothing to this, just glared down at her.

"I will go with you, willingly, and without objection. But we leave him behind." Amy repeated, trying to sound braver than she felt. Her knees felt like they might break under her weight at any moment as Vergil took his time to consider this.

"Amy... no.. Don't do it!" Dante gurgled as he reached out a hand to her. Amy turned to look at him and smiled as she took his hand.

"Don't worry about me, OK? I've been a big enough burden for you, haven't I?" Amy squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. "After all, I did hurt you four times in a single night"

"F-five, you bitch" Dante smirked, groaning as he flinched with pain.

"Yeah" she chuckled, lip trembling as she knelt down by him. "For what it's worth, I am sorry."

"Amy, don't" Dante said as Amy turned again to the creature. _To Vergil... _She dropped Dante's hand and tried to block out his cries as she approached Vergil. Her legs were weak, but she walked as if nothing were wrong at all, even if her body wanted to flee. She stepped into his shadow and placed herself before him. Placing her life, body, and very soul into his clawed hands.

"Take me" she said quietly as she looked defiantly up into those dark eyes.

Dante's vision was blurring as Vergil embraced her and even as he called out her name it was too late. They had vanished.


	7. Sacrifices

**Another chapter, another week of overthinking 24/7...lol I swear, I think way too much for my own good. I must ask you to forgive me if this chapter gets a little...what's that term? Tense? lol I'm trying my best to draw a line somewhere, but my mind does tend to go without my permission from time to time ;D And I doubt this will be the last time either! Listen as the Vergil fangirls squee...lol**

**I'm very protective of the DMC characters, but I do tend to bend the rules a little bit for the purpose of writing this. Vergil to me, is cold, calculating, and all around evil. I try to portray him as such, but the background I created in this story for him allows me a little bit of freedom in molding his relationship with the OC.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter, and as usual all constructive feedback is welcomed. **

* * *

**Bleed for Me**

**Chapter 7**

In his dreams he could see her. She wore white, and in the harsh sun rising behind her it blinded him. He lifted a hand to shade his eyes as he stood. Her long blonde hair blew in the wind as she smiled, her arms unfolding to him.

A white haired child ran to her, wrapping its small arms around her waist. Dante could feel the warmth that radiated from her as she lifted the boy into her arms and embraced him.

Dante tried to speak, but no words came from his mouth as he ran towards them. His feet felt like lead, and no matter how quickly he ran they were always so far from him.

The small child wrapped its arms around her neck, and kissed her cheek. A flash of light made Dante turn away. When he looked again she was on her knees on the grass, tears streaming from her soft features.

"Dante..." She said, but no sound escaped her throat. Her once white gown was now covered in dirt and blood. The small boy lay dead in her arms. It hadn't been Dante she'd called to, but it was the dead child in her arms she was grieving for.

There was a dark figure standing by her now. The blue of his eyes were so cold as he looked down upon the two with disgust and loathing. The Yamato blade he held reflected a shimmer of light across Dante's face. His mother... She was holding the small, lifeless body of Dante in her arms.

"VERGIL, NO!" He tried to yell as Vergil lifted his blade and brought it down with one swift movement over his mothers head.

"Worthless humans..." He heard Vergil say when he was finally able to make it to his mother's side. In a flash Vergil was gone and Dante held his mother's lifeless body to his own. Her hair was matted with blood, and she still clung to the small child.

"I don't want to be alone anymore" he heard her utter. When Dante looked down the hair he stroked was no longer blonde, but dark auburn. The glassy eyes were half open, with light green peaking through at him. It was Amy he held.

As Dante watched, she clung closer to the child in her arms. This time however it wasn't a younger Dante there, but Vergil. He lay peacefully against her breast as she clung to him. She coughed and blood trickled from her lips.

"Amy, let him go! You'll die if you don't!" he said. She lifted a hand to smooth it over his cheek, that damn smile on her face.

"Goodbye" she said quietly. Dante shook his head and tried to pry the sleeping boy from her grip. But she held fast as a death rattle escaped her lips and darkness fell over her eyes.

Dante woke with a jolt as he heard the sound of a car horn blare into his eardrums. He was half blinded as he tried to open his eyes. The sun over head was bearing down on him, and soon he heard footsteps.

"Mr.? Hey, you OK?" a voice called as he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. After about a minute he could make out a young man sitting over him looking concerned and confused.

"Y-yeah, I think so." Dante groaned as he tried to sit up. He looked down at his stomach, and while his skin was still red and inflamed, it appeared the wound there was almost healed. The young man put out a hand to help Dante up, and when he got to his feet he suddenly remembered how he had gotten there in the first place.

"Amy..." he said lowly, looking around even though he knew she would not be there. _Damn her! What was she thinking? _Dante's insides twisted at the thought of what Vergil could have done to her. What he was planning to. He turned to the bewildered young man.

"Can you give me a ride back to the city?" he asked, leaning over to pick up Rebellion from the ground where Vergil had tossed it. The boy looked first at the sword, and then back at Dante.

"Are you here for a cosplay convention?" Dante pursed his lips and sighed. He would consider a wardrobe change sometime later.

"Yes, and I need a ride there. Me and a couple of my buddies got a little too wild last night. Those practical jokers left me out here". Would that work? He had to admit the idea of picking up a gun toting, sword packing stranger from the side of the road was a bit suspicious. _A bit? Ha! _But at this point he didn't care. He needed to find out where Vergil had taken Amy. No doubt back into the city.

Vergil had never been the type to rough it. He would have lodgings near to where Amy lived, if he hadn't already jumped ship. Even if he had, finding where he had been staying could lead him to where Vergil would go, and maybe why it was he had been after Amy to begin with.

The young man stood for a moment, and then nodded his head. "Dragon Quest 8 right? Angelo?" The young man smiled at him.

Dante lifted an eyebrow at him. "Uh, yeah... Heh, great game!" He really needed to look into this once he kicked Vergil's ASS for putting him in this position. The young man beckoned him over to the car and they both got inside. There was a long moment of silence as the young man looked at him with a smirk from the driver seat.

"What?" Dante asked irritably.

"Nothing" he said, continuing to smirk as he started the car up and headed back into the city. Dante silently swore to himself. He hoped to God Amy was doing OK.

----------

Vergil kicked open the door when he had made his way back into the old brick building. He held Amy by the back of the neck, pushing her into the room, and slamming the door shut behind him.

His blood was boiling, but he knew he had to try and control himself. He could not kill her, not yet anyway. Amy turned to him and backed away as he entered, but he paid her no mind as he walked over to the desk where a jumble of papers sat. The same damned papers he'd gone over a hundred times since this began.

She was watching him, but she said nothing as she stood against the farthest wall from him. If his temper hadn't gotten the better of him this whole plan might've worked out better and he wouldn't have had to baby-sit her until he actually required her.

Then again he had never expected for Dante to find her. To even _know _he was looking for her. He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it on a chair. His damned shirt was torn and stained with blood now.

He had never expected for the little bitch to actually do it. Where was the scared girl he had known all those years back? She could've run, saved herself, but she had tried to protect Dante. His blood boiled again at the thought of it.

He had honestly never imagined the person he was looking for would turn out to be the same one who had seen a side of him he had never intended anyone to know. _Human... _It had been fate that she was to be the one he was searching for, because he would ultimately kill her. She was a threat to him because once... she had been a weakness. She could be a lot of trouble for him now, and so it was fate because with her death would also kill any part of his human side, even in its smallest of traces. Only then could he ascend to his ultimate goals. Only then could his taste for power be satiated.

Vergil undid the bloody shirt as he poured himself a glass of gold colored liquid. He tossed the shirt to the floor and took the drink in one gulp. _What to do with her until then_. He turned his steely gaze on her, fully expecting to see the wrath that had been there since she'd struck her deal with him. But it wasn't wrath he saw.

Amy was standing against the wall, limbs loose. Her cheeks were flushed and she was absentmindedly looking at his bare skin. Vergil felt the hair on his arm prickle and a shiver run through him. _Damnit. _He banged the glass down on the table and her eyes suddenly shot to his, before turning away to look elsewhere.

"How disgusting" he hissed. He saw her flinch at his words and felt contentment at that. He poured another glass and swaggered over to stand before her. He offered the glass forward to her turned face, but she didn't even acknowledge him standing there. He gulped the liquid down himself and tossed the glass onto the floor with a loud shatter.

Amy closed her eyes and swallowed. But she still did not look at him.

"Do you ever wonder..." he said slowly. "About that night?"

Amy's eyes turned to his suddenly, and Vergil smirked. _Of course you do. _"I myself always wondered what had happened. The thought of even touching you makes my very skin crawl" he said with distaste.

"Then get away from me" she snarled, putting her hand out to push him. He caught her wrists in his hands.

"No, we're not going to play this game again." he said simply, pushing her hands back towards her and stepping backwards. "You see Amy; something is very, very wrong with you. From the sounds of it Dante found it out too"

Amy just stared at him wide eyed, unmoving. "Don't tell me you actually believed that either of us would've touched you under normal circumstances?" He laughed cruelly. "Maybe Dante, but he always has had low standards." Amy sank down to the floor and looked away from him.

"C'mon, don't you want to hear the rest of my story? Trust me, I bet you're... _dying_ to hear it." He knelt slowly down in front of her, but not too close. She continued to look away from him. "Perhaps some other time then? Fine. In the meantime though I believe you have something I need"

"If you're looking for the comb, it's in my bag, BACK where you took me from." she hissed.

"Oh no, what would I want with that old piece of junk? It's of no real value to me. No, what I'm looking for is something smaller, something closer to your..._heart._" Without warning Vergil lunged forward at her, grabbed a hold of her shirt and ripped it open. Amy struggled to push him away.

Vergil smiled as the necklace she wore lay nestled at the base of her neck. He reached a hand out to grab it and suddenly felt his hand burning as he touched it. _What the hell?! _He quickly pulled back from her and she bolted for the front door.

"AMY!" he snarled as he quickly ran after her, slamming the door before she could even get it open.

"Get away!" she screamed at him as he made to grab her. "You disgust me!" Her hand reached up and she clawed the left side of his face. Vergil trapped her against the door and instinctively wrapped his hands around her throat.

"I disgust you?!" he said incredulously, anger flaring in his cold eyes. "It was all YOUR fault you stupid bitch! I would've never touched you if it hadn't..." Amy was struggling for air, clawing at his hands. He knew too late that he had betrayed himself by getting so close. The necklace at her throat reverberated with light, and suddenly an all too familiar electricity gripped Vergil. His hands eased from her neck and he stepped backwards, trying to fight it off. _You cannot fight it. _A voice said in his head. _You couldn't fight it then, and you will not fight it now. _

Amy leaned against the door gasping for breath. She turned to see Vergil staring at her, holding his head as if he had a sudden pain there. She turned from him to open the door and as she did so a hand flew over her bare shoulder. Vergil's palm pushed the door closed, and barred her escape. She stood trembling as she felt his warm breath on her shoulder. She didn't want to turn, or look at him. She was terrified of what she might see in those cold eyes.

She felt his warm hand run up her spine, over her bra clasp and into her hair. Vergil wound his fingers into the section above the back of her neck and pulled her head backwards. She yelped at the pain of it, and shivered as she felt his lips touch the side of her neck. He ran his tongue over her collar bone and softly nipped at her shoulder as his other hand crept up the other side of her throat. Turning her head to face his as he lips drew nearer.

_What the hell is he doing?! _Amy pushed backwards, knocking him away from her. She turned to face him, wrath returning to her eyes. "Don't EVER touch me again" she hissed, pulling the remains of her shirt closed.

Vergil stood before her, bare chest heaving, and eyes narrow slits as they lazily stared at her. She didn't know what was wrong, but something about this wasn't right. It was like back then, like it was with Dante... _Is this what Dante was talking about?_

_"You did something to me"_ he had said. Had she done something to Vergil too? She looked up and noticed Vergil wasn't looking at her, but the necklace at her throat. She put her hand around the small key and Vergil's eyes suddenly shot to her own.

"You were wearing this, the night you attacked David. Remember, I gave it to you to hold onto" Amy said, backing away as Vergil took a step towards her.

"Yes, I was. All these years I was looking for something to make me powerful. Never knowing that I had once had it within my grasp before I even knew what I was. It showed me what I was capable of doing, becoming"

Vergil hadn't seen at the time that it was the necklace she wore that had awoken his powers. It had magnified them. Although, he had never expected for them to magnify his hate, jealousy, and lust for the stupid girl. _Human weakness._ It wasn't until he had seen Amy again that night with Dante that he realized the artifact he had been searching for had been the _her _necklace. And it had all begun to make sense.

"I don't know why you have it, but it seems to have bonded itself to you. It protects you"

"Protects me?!" she said incredulously. "How is what you just tried to do to me protecting me?!" Vergil's eyes flared at her and he closed the gap between them.

"I didn't kill you did I?" he said coldly as she turned her face from him. "I could have. Don't think I wouldn't enjoy watching you beg for your life. But the necklace reflects the wearer's thoughts and desires." Amy opened her eyes to stare at him and he smiled at her, his eyes glinting. "You get it now? I react this way because somewhere deep down you want me to"

"Stop it" Amy snapped, trying to push him away.

"Why do you think I never came to you after that night? I knew something was wrong, even though I didn't know what. But I knew that I could hurt you, and the human side left in me _then _wouldn't allow that to happen". Vergil traced a finger along her jaw line. "You were mine" he whispered. "I couldn't let my hands tarnish you".

Amy pushed out against him. _I don't want this, I don't want this._ She chanted it over and over in her mind. But her thoughts suddenly returned to that night in the clearing. Vergil had been wearing the necklace, not her. So why had he acted the same way then? Then she remembered how she too had gone along with the kiss, despite her better judgment and fear of him. She looked Vergil in the eye with a dangerous notion on the tip of her tongue.

"You did something to me" she whispered as he was just about to brush his lips against hers. Vergil stopped and glared at her. "If the necklace reflects the desires of the wearer, and you were wearing it that night you kissed me..."

"Shut up" Vergil said coldly, grabbing her face in his hands. Vergil pushed her backwards and walked to the opposite side of the room, this time drinking directly from the bottle.

But he couldn't erase the question from her mind. She could use this to her advantage if need be. Amy moved back to the other side of the room and sat down clutching her shirt close to her. Dante suddenly crossed her mind as she watched Vergil sit down at the desk full of papers. She needed to find her way back to Dante and give him any information she could that would help to stop this madness from going any further. Whatever Vergil had planned for her she was determined now to stop it at all costs. Even if it meant seducing a devil.

----------

Dante had not enjoyed his car ride with the young man back into the city. He practically fell out of the car in his attempt to get away from his constant ranting about which video game character could kick another characters ass. Dante had asked him to pull over when the man had asked him if he wanted to see his cosplay costume.

"Ok then, I'll meet up with you later at the convention!" he called from the driver's side window before pulling away. Dante ran a hand over his face. _I hate my life..._

He ducked into an alley to avoid the morning work rush of people walking the streets. He knew where he was headed. Dante walked through back alleys, coming deeper into the heart of the city. The area around him became darker it seemed as he walked, but Dante knew it was a sign. Most hunters' might not find a place like this unless they had heard of it, or were part demon like him. The bar in question gave off the kind of aura that would attract demons and other dark creatures. It was somewhat a safe haven for them, usually ran by a half breed with a love of money that would turn on his kind if properly compensated.

Dante noticed as he approached it that the door had been barred up with wooden boards from the inside, as he could see the boards over the window. As he examined the door more closely he noticed that it had been cut in two at one point, with a blade so fine that the glass was still in tact. Although, cut in half.

"Well well well..." Dante growled. He leaned backwards and slammed his boot into the door, ripping it, again, off its hinges.

"Not again!" A voice shouted from deep inside. When the door was on the floor Dante looked up to see a short man standing just at the top of where the door lay. He was frozen as he gazed at Dante. "NO! We're closed, get out of here!" The man started limping away towards the back. He grabbed a shotgun off the wall and pointed it at Dante.

"Hold on old timer!" Dante put his hands up. "I'll fix the door if it's that important to you. But first, I need a little information." Dante ducked as the man fired the gun at the spot where his head had been.

"Get OUT! You and your brother are not welcome here!" he hissed, taking aim again and shooting as Dante ducked behind a table.

"You know my brother then?" Dante asked, but the fear in the man's face when he looked at him had given the answer away. _At least I'm on the right track. _"I don't want to have to hurt you, but I'll do it unless you put the gun down." Dante pulled his guns from their holsters and leapt out from behind the table to move to the one closest to it. He felt the table rumble as the blast shot the top of the table, leaving a big gaping hole. Dante tossed the table at the bar where the man stood, but he shot it in mid air, knocking it away.

"I'm not helping that brother of yours anymore, you hear me? Bastard practically severed my leg! You go tell him that from me!"

"Hold up one second there! I'm _not _here on Vergil's orders. I came here to find him and to stop him" Dante said, edging his way to hide on the opposite side of the bar from where the man stood.

Silence followed these words, and then the man spoke again. "If you tell me now boy that you're gonna make him suffer, I'll tell you anything you want to hear". Dante slowly lifted his head above the edge of the bar. The man was still holding the gun in his face, but he didn't seem as trigger happy.

"That certainly was the plan. He has a friend of mine, and I need to find where he's hiding out" Dante lowered his own guns as a sign of truce. The man reluctantly lowered his weapon, but he kept it held tightly in his one hand at his side.

"On that, I can't help you. Son of a bitch just dropped by to ask me for information, never did pass along any information to _me."_

"Well then, how about telling me what information he was interested in?" Dante sat down at the bar before him. "How about a drink too while you're at it?"

"Sure, of course. That is, _after _you've paid me" He grinned at him. "A man's gotta make a living."

"That would be the case, if you were in fact a man. So stop bullshitting me. I'll make it worth your while"

"How about that fine amulet round your neck?" The man stared hungrily at it. "Don't often see such things outside of the demon world"

"I don't think so. I'm rather attached to this. You did say if I made Vergil suffer you'd tell me anything." Dante grinned at the falter in the man's beady eyes.

"Suppose my information would lead you to your brother? What would stop him from coming back here and torturing me for telling you?"

"Well, if I could find him I could put him out of his misery, and out of your hair. But..." Dante sighed dramatically. "...if I don't find him now, who's to say he won't just show up here again, and this time finish the job? He knows I'm onto him now, so he wouldn't think twice about killing any witnesses to his evil plan." Dante let him think upon this as he eyed a bottle of whiskey just behind him.

"Ok, ok!" The man sighed, turning and pouring Dante a shot. Dante downed it quickly and sighed. _Damn, I needed that. _"You brother, he wanted to know about a certain artifact. A rare one to boot." Dante just watched him, waiting.

"Most demons and devils that walk on earth now a days are tainted in one way or another. They say the true earth walking devils are long since gone. The legend goes that one of the very last fell in love with a human, but his love was unrequited."

Dante idly picked at a groove in the bar with his finger. "Yeah, yeah, what does this have to do with the artifact?"

"If you'd shut up and not be such a cocky mouthed punk then I'd tell you" he snapped, slapping Dante's hand from messing with his bar. "The devil in question created a rare stone that would give him what he desired most. In his case, his unrequited love. But the demon knew that he would have to shed his skin and become human to be with her. So he sealed away his powers, and..."

"Lived happily ever after?" Dante jumped back as the man raised a hand to hit him again.

"There ain't no such thing boy. We always sacrifice our own happiness for the things we want the most. No one knows what became of him. But the rumor was this rare stone was tainted by his greed. Devils weren't meant to live amongst humans, and so his love faded as the bitterness of mortality took hold of him. The stone was supposed to give the wearer that which they desired above all. It also unlocked the power the devil cast off to become human"

"So Vergil is after this stone? If it's rare than it could be anywhere!" Dante growled, pushing his shot glass out for another refill.

"Vergil seemed to think he'd found it. Old artifacts like that can get misplaced in the history books. Maybe coming into contact with those who don't even know what it really is?" The man was looking at him over his nose. "You say he took a friend of yours?"

Dante stared at the him. "How do you know so much? You don't cross me as the type who gets out of here much."

"I just have a curiosity about these kind of things. Like that amulet round your throat. I could tell you a few stories about its original owner. His story though, much like the other Devil's. With one exception." Dante eyed him.

"What exception is that?" Dante said coldly. The last thing he was after now was to hear about his father.

"He died, still loving the things he'd sacrificed his life for." The man winked at Dante and poured him another glass. Dante downed it and said nothing, instead choosing to stare at the bottom of it.

"What's your name old timer?" Dante asked after a few moments of silence.

"Just call me Joseph. Hell, call me _anything _except old." Joseph poured himself a glass and raised it to Dante before downing it. "I'm really no older than you are."

Dante gave him a withering look.

"I told you boy, we all sacrifice something for the things we want most. Me, I gave up my youth and vitality to get out from the literal hell I lived in. Cut my lifespan quite a bit, but it sure does beat the stench of burning flesh. But we're not here about me." he paused, looking at Dante for a long minute. "There is only one thing I can think of that Vergil is after. The stone would have the power to lead Vergil to the resting place of the old devil's sealed powers. It also will allow him access to it, which would mean a world of hurt for all of us."

"Any plan of Vergil's usually involves a world of hurt for me. But I can handle Vergil; it's the girl I care about." Dante paused at this comment, and then quickly added. "I mean, it's her we _should_ care about. If Vergil hasn't killed her already" Dante put a hand up as Joseph went to refill his glass.

"Well, there may be a small hope for the girl. He may have taken her because she holds the artifact in her possession. This stone was made for a devil, but when similar stones cross paths with humans, are kept by them for long periods of time, they will bond themselves to their souls. If your friend has bonded with it, Vergil won't be able to harm her as long as she has it on her..." Joseph paused, a deep furrow on his brow.

"What is it?" Dante asked, noticing the dark shadow across his eyes.

"Vergil will no doubt use her to find the sealed Devil's powers, as he cannot forcibly take the artifact from her. Once he makes it to the inner chamber that houses it though, he will need to spill blood to retrieve it."

Dante blinked at him. "Vergil's not the type to willingly spill his own. He's much too uptight about his "pure" blood to waste any." Dante rolled his eyes. "Pure blood my ass."

"There lies the problem. Well, it might've been a problem, except now he has not only the necklace, but a human sacrifice to offer" Joseph raised his face in acknowledgement as Dante seemed to catch on.

"Amy" Dante sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I swear, if she lives through this..." Dante paused. "WHEN she lives through this... I'm going to kill her myself for going with Vergil in the first place."

* * *

**Author Note: Just as a reference, _Angelo _is a character from the game Dragon Quest 8 (if you hadn't figured it out yet...lol). A good friend of mine has played the game and we always would talk about how Angelo had a Dante complex. He wears somewhat similar red clothing (more like Dante's outfit in the original DMC game), has white hair and blue eyes. This is the reason why the young man asked Dante if he was dressed as Angelo. I can't help but laugh at Dante's clothing in some situations. Forgive me if this cosplay thing becomes a running gag...lol Till Chapter 8!**


	8. Sin

**Time sure flies! I just have to give a brief warning on this chapter. There is a bit of flustyness in here...lol My mind has been on over drive lately and I wanted a Vergil/Amy only chapter, and this is it! Never fear lovers of Dante (like me..lol), he will return in the next chapter. But this entire chapter developed from a single scene I originally had put in this chapter, but I decided to put it in the next chapter...lol So I had to create the right atmosphere for said scene which is by far my favorite. So forgive me if it gets a little hot and heavy from time to time. Originally this chapter was longer than 12 pages, but I cut it to 8...lol **

**So yeah, if you don't like angsty/lust situations then move on. I'm probably mild at best when it comes to these scenes, mainly because I want to keep this a "T" story, and also because I blush like a mad woman and have to stop myself when I write this stuff...lmao! I'm such a nun, I swear!**

**Oh, and I apologize to all the guys out there for my OC's excessive use of groin violence on the men characters...lmao!!! It's just such an easy target...lol**

**Anywho, hope you enjoy (I know the Vergil fangirls will...lol).**

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**Bleed For Me**

**Chapter 8**

Hours passed by as the silence of the room stretched out between them. Vergil sat at the desk, rummaging through the sheets of papers he received from the half breed at the bar. If it hadn't been for him, Vergil might've never known why it was the girl affected him so.

_It's all her fault. _Even their childhood together had been a lie, even if she was unaware of what her necklace was made for. He heard her move briefly, but he didn't look at her. He _couldn't._

Typically he would welcome silence. It always brought him some sort of peace, allowed him to concentrate better on the task at hand. But even back then sh_e _had always been able to break through it.

_You were mine... _The words echoed in his mind. _I couldn't let my hands tarnish you. _Had he actually said that to her? His stomach tightened. How could he have said such a disgusting thing? Although, what tightened his stomach was he knew that he had meant it when he said it. Somewhere, buried between the darkness in his heart, he had possessively held onto her. The necklace had brought that out of him. She had inserted herself into his life and in doing so had poisoned him. At first it had been simple human curiosity, but the night she'd clung to him after returning from retrieving his mother's possessions something had happened.

He couldn't say now, after all these years, if it had something to do with the necklace. She hadn't been beautiful to him, not at all the beauty his mother had been. But he was still only a boy then, who had simply took hold of the first person to reach out to him since his mother's passing.

Even now as he sat in the dimly lit room, blankly staring down at his desk, Vergil couldn't pinpoint what it was that connected him to this girl. She had seemed untainted to him then, the first consistent person in his life. He had learned at an early age to hide behind the cold of his eyes and his sharp tongue. But Amy had been persistent, reminding him of a dog who returns to a cruel master out of necessity. Every bitter word that came from his mouth masked tumultuous and confusing feelings of adolescence. He hated her, because she consumed his thoughts after that night, and even after he had cut her from his life.

But they were children no more. Vergil had aged years since then, and in some way she had too. No longer was she content to take abuse from him, but bite back in retaliation. He felt warmth in his mid section, a reminder of Dante's blade as she'd pushed it into him.

He chanced a glance over at her, but she wasn't looking at him. The terror had died from her face, but her features were strained. She was holding onto the necklace, and absentmindedly running her finger over the stone. He glared at her form, no longer a child but a grown woman. Vergil made a fist at his side and didn't even flinch as his nails dug into his own skin. _Stop looking at her. _He would punish himself for these thoughts later. Only when she was nothing more to him than another decaying corpse. A means to his goals. Nothing more than a memory.

Vergil couldn't think of anything now. He stared at her, but didn't really see her. His eyes felt fuzzy, and his vision blurred as he blankly stared at the floor. He felt someone looming over his shoulder, and he spun around. With pen knife in hand, the blade slashed across rosy flesh and Amy let out a howl before jumping back.

"Stupid girl!" Vergil hissed as he stood to see what damage he had done. It was a deep cut on her shoulder, but it wasn't fatal. "What did you think you were doing?"

She had placed a hand over the cut and crimson blood flowed out from between her fingers. She looked a little dumbstruck at what had happened, but she seemed to come back after a moments pause.

"I was bored" She replied softly, turning to look down at the cut he had made. Her face contorted as he pulled her hand from the wound to examine it more closely. "I couldn't just sit there, I would've gone crazy"

Vergil eyed her, not really sure what to make of this. It had been... six hours since he'd brought her here? Eight maybe? He would live a much longer life than she, so time meant nothing to him. But to a human girl, the idle passage of that many hours would actually be noticeable.

"You should know better by now not to sneak up on someone who is looking for an excuse to kill you" Vergil said flatly, looking around for something to tie off the wound with. But Amy pulled her arm from his hand, giving him a harsh look as she moved back to her side of the room.

She turned to face the wall and slipped off the remnants of the t-shirt he'd destroyed. She let out a groan as she gingerly removed her arm from it, and then began ripping it apart to make bandages. When she finally got to the part of tying it however... she found one hand was inadequate. She turned to look at Vergil for a brief moment, but didn't ask for help. Instead she began wrapping it around in an awkward manner. When she was finished she walked back to the desk to look down at the papers scattered there.

"What are you looking for?" She asked. Vergil crossed the room and snatched a page from her hand.

"None of your business" He said coldly. She only stared up at him. Vergil huffed at her, then roughly grabbed hold of the makeshift bandage and pulled.

"Ow!" Amy yelled, pushing him back as she tenderly touched her arm. "What the hell?"

"I'm trying to tie it properly, so hold still" Vergil growled at her. She recoiled away at his second attempt, but he caught her arm and she allowed him access to the bandage. He felt her eyes on him as he set to the task, but he concentrated on keeping his eyes on her shoulder. Although, he too now found himself guilty of the same thing she had done when he'd discarded his bloody shirt. At this thought he turned to pick up the shirt and handed it to her to cover herself with. Amy looked at it for a moment, and then quickly shuffled into it. It was too big shoulder and length wise and she seemed to disappear into it. _Much better._

"Vergil?" Amy suddenly asked. "What happened to you after I left?"

"What do you mean?" He asked with an annoyed tone.

"Were you sent into foster care, adopted?" She pressed.

"Neither" He said simply. He finished tying the arm band, and turned from her to return to the desk. But he felt a small tug on the back of his vest. The same sleeveless one he'd put on to mask the bare skin that she'd gazed upon so shamelessly.

"What happened?" He heard her ask. He was momentarily reminded of the night of his fifteenth birthday. _Please come in, I'll play something for you if you do. Anything at all..._

Her tone was similar now, and he understood it now more than he could then. She was bored, and now she wanted company. _His _company. He rolled his eyes out of her sight and snatched himself from her grasp. When he turned to her she looked expectant, if not curious.

"I didn't stay long after you left. I ran away before my seventeenth birthday to make my own way." He sat down in the chair and she stepped closer.

"Then where did you go?" She pressed. Vergil watched her, his eyes narrow slits as he pursed his lips. When they were younger she would look away from him when he did this. Hell, she had trouble looking him in the eye most anytime he gave her his full attention. But now she stood before him, only blinking occasionally but not letting her eyes falter as she stared back at him. And he found that it was he who broke that contact instead of her. His eyes traveled to the table again.

"Nowhere" He sighed heavily. "And everywhere. It doesn't matter now."

"But, I want to know"

"Stop it!" He snapped, slamming his fist down on the table. "Whatever it is you're trying to do, it won't work. Did you think we'd catch up on old times? You're marked for death, and I am your reaper." He sneered as he glared up at her. But she was smiling at him. His blood boiled.

"But not yet?" She cooed. "You'll kill me _in time. _But not now."

Amy may have seemed collected at the moment, but she was shivering from head to toe. _I can't do this. _She told herself. She couldn't get close to him, the very idea made her insides scream in protest. She knew better than to play with a wild animal, and that was what Vergil was to her. Some unknown species that did not play well with her kind. Two races never meant to...

Vergil tried to calm his reserve. Blocking the instinct to continue what the knife on the desk had started. What was she playing at? She seemed too eager now, too _friendly. _

"Do..." Amy began, but paused for a moment before continuing. "...you still play?" Vergil tensed at the question. He didn't want to talk with her anymore. He stood up and swept past her to a doorway that he had curtained off only a few days earlier. That damned piano. He couldn't look at it since she'd tumbled back into his life.

He pulled the curtain down, and there sat the old, dusty piano. He put out a hand towards it, not looking at her. "Play." He said pointedly. Amy stood her ground, looking at him with an odd expression. "If it'll get you to shut up then I'm all for it" He continued after a long, tense moment of silence.

Amy walked slowly towards the open doorway where he stood leaning against the frame sideways. As she came equal to him she turned to scoot by through the narrow door. "Excuse me." She said, waiting for him to move. But Vergil stood defiantly in his place. He knew with himself standing there it would make it difficult for her to get by him, and he had to admit he found some twisted pleasure in playing with her this way. After all, she had started this game with her _"not yet" _comment. And if he couldn't kill her now, then he could at least take joy in messing with her.

"Say _please" _He said with an evil smirk, glaring down at her.

Amy rolled her eyes at him and scowled when he didn't move. And then, she did something very bold. She turned sideways and squeezed through the doorway. Vergil tensed as he felt her jeaned thigh brush against the back of his hand, and her chest press into his sleeveless arm for that one instant. For a moment he looked at the back of her head wide eyed, but then he left the doorway to sit again at his desk. From here he had a full view of her as she looked at the old piano.

At first she examined it, running her fingers along a wide cut in the wood. She turned to look at him accusingly, but he turned from her to stare back down at the papers before him. _Pay her no mind. There are more pressing matters at hand. _Vergil swallowed hard. _Pressing... hand. _He bit his lip hard, concentrating on the taste of the raw blood he drew from it.

He looked down at the sheets scattered before him. Somewhere, hidden within the folds of these old documents, was the location of where the old Devil's resting place was. The necklace would help, but only if it were in his possession. At the moment though it seemed content where it was. Amy would not help along her own death, and so he had to decipher the cryptic codes buried within a journal. Once he'd found the gate, the necklace would return to its rightful master regardless of its ties to the girl. It would be then he would be able to get close enough to kill her. She would be vulnerable then, without the necklace to protect her from him. Vergil smiled to himself, a cruel smile that suited him.

His ears pricked as he heard tiny rippling of keys. There was no pattern to them, no real rhythm. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked uncertain, stiff even as she stroked the keys there. She looked nothing like the girl who had once taken such pride in playing. He suddenly wondered how long it had been since she'd touched a piano.

She fell silent, allowing her hands to fall onto her lap as she looked down at the keys. She fell painfully silent, and Vergil felt his aggravation growing.

"Play something already" He growled, pretending to be looking at the papers.

"I don't feel like it" She said quietly.

"You just said you were bored, didn't you?" She turned herself on the stool, facing the window rather than the piano. Her back now facing him. "I could tolerate your company more when you were obedient" She mocked a laugh.

"You make me sound like some pet"

"I seem to remember using the term _parasite_" He added with a smug tone. Rather than lash out at him, he heard a soft noise. He didn't immediately recognize it. When he glanced over at her he noticed her posture had changed. Her shoulders were hunched, elbows propped on her knees with her head in her hands. There was a slight hint of shivering. Vergil glowered at her back. _Is she crying? _She would get no sympathy from him. He stared down at the papers again, but found he couldn't concentrate with her sniveling.

"Are you going to play?" He asked, grinding his jaw.

"Bite me" She croaked. Then he heard her gasp. When he looked up she had turned to face him, hand covering her mouth in such a look of astonishment. Almost as if she'd uttered something life threatening. It was so quick, and her face so...stupid that he felt the corners of his mouth twitch. But he did not laugh, absurd as her face, and request had been. But surprisingly she did. Hand still over her mouth she let out a nervous laugh even as the streaks of her forgotten tears lingered. "I take it back. You actually might."

"Contrary to popular belief" Vergil began "Not every dark being delights in the taste of human flesh. The very thought of tainting my person with the blood of an inferior creature makes my stomach churn."

"So I'm safe then?" She asked with an awkward smirk on her face. He knew he shouldn't have said it, and he realized after he did what she had done. What she had intended.

"For now" He said quietly, a small smirk playing on his face. It occurred to him, her earlier comment. _You'll kill me in time. But not now. _She had single handedly gotten him to confirm what she already knew. At this though he couldn't feel angry. In a way, he was...impressed? He had never thought her capable of making him slip up. Then again, he hadn't expected her to stab him either.

She sat on the stool still, leaning to the side, her one arm outstretched to balance her and she was smiling at him. Not nervous, or stupid, but it was bright. Perhaps the lingering tears in her eyes made it so, but she glowed healthily. Her features looked alive, and her eyes looked a few shades lighter. _Warmth. _That was what it was.

"Just play something already" He said, his eyes faltering from hers. He suddenly realized that he was reading a page upside down. He quickly sat it down. _Get a grip._

"Why don't you play something if you're so eager for music?" Amy suddenly chimed in.

"Like hell I will. By all means, go crazy" He said distractedly as he shuffled through a drawer.

"Oh, I see. I can understand if you can't play anymore" She said with what he should've recognized as playful, but he had been distracted by her comment.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He snapped.

"Nothing. I'm just saying I understand if you're no good anymore. We all lose talents when they aren't practiced over years." She replied, tinkling her fingers over the keys.

This time however Vergil caught the tone in her voice and recognized it. She was challenging him, but it wasn't to play the piano. Vergil watched her in silence for a few moments. _Absurd. _

"What is this about losing talent? If I lacked for anything it was a proper teacher." He growled standing and striding over to her. He planted himself next to her on the bench and immediately went to work. He had kept up with playing over the years, because it had brought him some comfort as a child. So even now he found solace in it.

She watched him as he played, but Vergil was waiting. Waiting for something his instincts had warned him against. He was just waiting for her to make the first move.

----------

Amy shivered slightly, sitting next to Vergil. She suddenly was aware of how naked she felt, even with the bloodied shirt he'd given her. She was surprised to find that Vergil had improved, and she tried her best to focus on this. Anything to keep her mind off of her last desperate idea.

She needed to get away, but she knew she was no match for Vergil. Even if he wouldn't kill her now, there was no doubt in her mind he would hurt her just enough to keep her alive should the idea come to him. She needed to find common ground with him, try to spark whatever it was that had unknowingly bound them together as children. She could not hope for mercy, and so she had turned to the only idea that seemed possible. Even if it scared her senseless.

_That kiss... _The idea had planted itself in her mind when she'd come to the realization that maybe Vergil had kissed her all those years ago because he had wanted to. And she had gone along with it because the necklace was urging her to bend to _his_ will. It was the one thought that had sustained her through out this game she now played. Although now she found it too familiar to be sitting next to Vergil again after all these years.

How many times had she seen this in her mind? In her dreams, when a much older looking Vergil sat with her this way, playing some song together while rain drummed away on the windows. He never smiled, but she could tell he was happy in his own melancholy way. Eyes narrowed in concentration and smugness as he tried to outdo her. Amy found herself staring at the side of Vergil's face as he played now, oblivious to her presence beside him. She traced his profile with her eyes and marveled at how different he seemed now. _He must scowl a lot. _She thought as she noticed the etching of scowl lines around his mouth and eyes. It only served to make his starkly white skin seem even more shadowed.

She felt a pull at her stomach at this. She traced her eyes down his neck, to his slender arm. The muscles beneath working effortlessly as his hands glided over the keys. Amy tilted her head sideways and noticed a shadow of something showing just under the back of his arm. It disappeared into the arm of his vest. Lost in her world Amy reached out slowly and felt the roughness of a large scar there. Then her hand was suddenly grabbed. As the music faded from her mind she returned to reality to see the cold eyes glaring at her again. Vergil squeezed her wrist so tightly she felt her hand throb.

"Who did that to you?" She asked, unflinchingly as he kept his grip on her wrist, holding it between them. His eyes narrowed at her, but she asked again when he did not respond. She suddenly had a sinking feeling in her stomach as he turned to look anywhere but her. He still wouldn't respond. She felt anger welling up inside of her. But she couldn't tell if it was at him, or at the scar. It was large, rough, and extended farther back under his vest. Had someone done this to him?

She felt another wave, but this time it was pure emotion. She didn't know why but she suddenly saw a younger Vergil being beaten by someone. The scar could've been from some fight for all she knew, but this was what came to her mind, and it made her stomach churn and her eyes prick. Vergil still held her hand, but it had lost its strength. Instinct was beginning to take over. The same side that had come out when she had tried to protect Dante from Vergil's wrath. Doubt gone, and well as fear, Amy moved closer to Vergil.

You don't know him anymore. _I don't care. _There is no telling what he might do. _I don't care. _He could kill you... ..._I don't care. _

Amy reached out with her free arm and wrapped it over Vergil's chest. She laid her head on his shoulder and he let go of her hand as he jumped at her touch. She followed suite and wrapped her other arm around his back. Vergil did not move, or speak. He only sat looking away from her, to the room where his desk was. But this wasn't what she wanted. She suddenly felt the need to be close to him, to shield him from her own horrifying thoughts.

She lifted her hand to coax him to look at her. He held his head straight, lock jawed again as he stared blankly out of the room. "Vergil" She whispered against his shoulder, shattering the silence that hung around them. Maybe it was the necklace, but he slowly turned to look down at her. "What's happened to you?" She asked him. He ground his teeth tighter still, just staring down at her with his unique eyes.

Amy hadn't even thought of her plans since before he started playing. They were further away still as she stood up. She stared down at him, as he was still sitting, and so she towered over him now. She put one hand on either side of his face and leaned over to kiss his forehead. When she pulled away she was aware his eyes had gone dark. She suddenly felt a tugging at her sides and realized it was his hands, pulling her down to him. She woke from the dream like state she had been in and remembered that this was what she had intended, but the closer he got the more the knot in her stomach tightened. Could she really do it? Could she really kill him this way?

He pulled her down to his lap and she was shocked at how gentle he was being with her. His eyes had glazed over and he gently nuzzled at the side of her neck. Amy tried to concentrate on the pen knife she had picked up and concealed in the bottom strap of her bra just under her arm. She had swiped it off the table when Vergil turned to get her his shirt and tried her best to keep him distracted enough to not notice it missing. She had to watch where his hands went now, because he would easily feel the cold steel through the thin shirt. For this, she kept her arms at her side, hands pressed against his chest to prevent too much contact. But despite this she couldn't help but marvel at how he felt. She cursed her skin as a shiver ran through her, standing every hair on end with pure enjoyment at being fondled in another's arms.

Amy groaned out, but she couldn't tell if it was for real or over her frustration with her treacherous body. He hadn't really _done_ anything to her, and she was acting like a school girl. As if reading her thoughts, Vergil moved his wandering mouth from her neck to her lips. At first Amy went rigid in his arms and the kiss was one sided. But he went from gentle to demanding when she did not respond to him. She felt his hand in her hair again, and the smile on his lips as her gasp of pain allowed him full access to her mouth. _Concentrate. _She growled to herself. _Remember what he could do, what he WILL do._ But she felt his tongue penetrate her lips and she jumped back from his grasp. The keys made a loud noise as she sat back on them in her attempt to remove herself from this intimacy. His eyes flared in anger at her disobedience and as he went to pull her back Amy pulled out the pen knife. It flashed in the air as she made to strike out at him, but her wrist was held tightly in his before she could even blink.

Amy panted, fear rising within her as Vergil suddenly smiled at her. He pulled the knife out of her hand with his free one and eyed her playfully.

"Now now... Where were you hiding this?" Vergil stood, knocking the bench over with a loud crack as it hit the floor. He leaned over Amy, stretching her over the keys until she grunted with the effort of being bent backwards over the piano. "Why Miss Amy... Were you trying to seduce me?" He clicked his tongue at her disapprovingly.

"It worked didn't it?" Amy said with a forced smile, faltering as a spasm of pain hit her back.

"Did it? You didn't kill me did you? What of that makes you think _it worked_?" He was close to her face again, and for a moment she was sure he was going to kiss her. Her knees trembled, but he did not kiss her. He spit on her. "_Whore." _He hissed, his grip tightening on her wrists. Amy swallowed hard, and tried her best to keep a straight face.

"It worked" She repeated. "B-because you and your brother are still human right?" Vergil glared down at her. He didn't seem to understand what she meant by this, but it must've angered him to not only be called human but to be compared to Dante. Amy was determined to make him understand in FULL her exact meaning. It was time for plan "B". It had worked on David, and even on Dante. If she had had any affect on Vergil in those intimate moments then he too would know her meaning.

Amy took all the strength she had and she kneed him in the groin.

She could've used the seconds in which Vergil had let her go to contemplate whether anyone had ever tried that on Vergil, but she was too frantic to do anything else but run. He did not stop her as she flung the door open, or as she tried to find a safe way of getting out of the building. Vergil had brought her in via a second story window because the first floor was missing a full floor to gain access to the upper ones. As she made it to the second floor however, she realized there was nothing but pitch darkness at the bottom of the stairs. _I'm trapped! _Amy went to the window at the end of the hallway she was in. Moonlight cut through the darkness from it. Outside she could see water. The old building was backed up against a large river that separated one side of the city to the other. She opened the window and the hinges groaned in protest. She wondered if she could jump.

As she lifted the window up sudden cold ran through her blood as she saw Vergil standing behind her in the reflection. She felt white hot pierce through her shoulder and her warm blood flow down to her fingers. She cried out as Vergil pulled the tip of his blade free of her shoulder. Amy sat on the sill, panting heavily as the cool night air caressed her back.

"Vergil" She croaked. She watched him walk towards her, placing the tip of his blade at the hollow of her throat.

"You can die here, or you can die later. It makes no difference to me girl. I should kill you now for what you just did". He pierced her skin slightly, just enough to make her feel it. Amy looked defiantly up at his face.

"I won't help you Vergil" She said, inching herself backwards out of the window. "No one can help you anymore."

"Get back in here!" His voice was icy cold as he reached out a hand to grab her. To prevent her from doing the crazy thing her determined eyes were giving away. But as quick as his hand shot out Amy had fallen backwards, pushing her feet off the wall and praying it was water she'd meet.

Her final images before the darkness were that of Vergil staring down at her. His face was horror struck. The same look he'd given her when she'd fallen from the rooftop. _It was our first meeting after so long, and I guess it is also to be our ending._


	9. Drowning

**Hello again! Sorry this chapter took so long! I wasn't completely pleased with the last chapter so I got stuck on where to go next. I may revise it in the future, but I'm content enough with this chapter to keep things moving along.**

**I want to note a bit of flustyness returns, but also this chapter has some disturbing parts in it. Normally I don't go that road if I can help it, but I felt it worked for the area it was in. **

**Also, this chapter skips around a bit. From dream, to reality, to memory etc. Hopefully you guys will like this chapter. If not, constructive criticism is welcome!**

* * *

**Bleed for Me**

**Chapter 9**

"I hear tell of a place none of the others will go near. You might want to check that out" Joseph had said to him. "You'll also want to take this with you." He pulled out small vial from his pocket. "I was saving it for myself, but I'm getting the hell out of dodge."

"What the hell is it?" Dante asked looking at it. The vial contained a red colored...something. It could've been a liquid substance, but it seemed to swirl like air within one moment and become solid the next.

"It's a very potent poison. It couldn't kill the bastard unfortunately, but it would slow him down enough for you to get the girl away" Joseph handed it to him. "Now listen here boy. When you've got her there's a place nearby that you two could hide out in, or at least you could stash her there until you finished with Vergil." He had grabbed a map and written a few notes on it. Dante now ran a hand over it as he walked down the dark alleyways.

Joseph would no doubt leave the city out of fear of Vergil, but Dante owed him one for all the help he had given. It usually wasn't his way to strike up kinship with other half-breeds, but he couldn't help but appreciate his presence in Dante's current situation. He would worry about these things later. He'd given Vergil too much time to spend alone with Amy. He wasn't comforted at all by Joseph's words that Vergil would not kill her out of necessity. There was no such thing as far as Vergil was concerned. If he got bored enough with her he would find a way to entertain himself that Dante was sure would involve bodily harm. Vergil was cool and collected, but not known for his self restraint. He angered too easily.

What about Amy? Her anger was quick to flare too. Would she know not to provoke Vergil? He cringed at the thought. _She couldn't be that stupid, could she? _

He tried to push it from his mind as he turned down another alleyway. He put a hand into his pocket and felt the smooth vial as he grasped it in his hand. If this were potent enough to slow Vergil down then he too needed to be careful with it. As much as he hated to admit it, Vergil did have more strength and ability than he did. In the past, previous to now anyway, Vergil was content to beat the living daylights out of him and allow him to live another day to regret it. But to Dante he didn't much care. The battles with Vergil, even though he lost most of them, were an opportunity to fight a worthy opponent, and to ease his mind that Vergil wasn't completely gone. Sure, Vergil might've allowed him to live so he could have someone to play with when it suited him, but with every near save built a hope that Vergil might give up his means and just be Vergil, his brother.

Dante knew he was kidding himself, but it sustained him in the years since his first encounter with this "new" Vergil. So little was known about where Vergil had been all those years while they were apart. Amy had filled in a small gap of time, but would the remainder of his time always be a mystery? Dante sighed. They had finally come to a head it seemed. Vergil would not let him live if given the chance to kill him and yet he pushed forward. He must've been a fool to have been chasing after his twin for so long. All the times it could've ended, all the countless innocents that could've been saved from two brothers love of carnage.

"GET BACK HERE!" Dante suddenly froze as he heard the roar. _That voice... _It was unmistakable. Dante took off running. He could sense Vergil now, he was so close. He tried to clear his mind, but suddenly his stomach lurched as he smelled fresh blood on the night air. The scent of fresh blood and rose water. _Amy..._

----------

"Why are you being such a baby?" Vergil had growled at Amy. She stood on the shore of the lake holding her arms close to her as she stared down at the water.

"I..." Amy began, but her voice was so small he could barely hear her response.

"You what?" He asked annoyed, wading out into the water a bit more.

"I-I can't swim" She said softly. Vergil laughed at her. "Stop it!" She snapped, face going red. "Don't make fun of me Vergil."

It was the summer of their 15th year, shortly after the night she'd begged for him to never leave her behind. And he hadn't. More like couldn't. Vergil couldn't remember ever allowing anyone as close to him as she had been that night. Not since his mother. No one but she had ever held him so tightly before and the image now made him confused as he thought of it again. She was growing on him, as much as he hated to admit it. He had wondered, even fought with his better judgment about allowing her so close, emotionally and physically. Soon he started having new nightmares that blindsided him. Amy. Leaving him. He felt a pang of something inside at the thought and couldn't place it.

It was almost as if she'd disrupted the security he'd built up around himself for so many years. But he couldn't stop thinking of the dream, or of her. Some nights he woke from a different dream where she had done more that night than just hugged him. Something was stirring, and she was to blame.

Vergil ascended from the cold water and offered a hand forward to the shivering girl. "It won't bite."

"What if I drown?" She asked. Her eyes untrusting as she looked at his hand.

"You really think I'd let you?" She looked as if she didn't want to answer that, or maybe didn't know how. He sighed and took hold of her hand, dragging to her to the waters edge. Her whole body tensed as he did so. "I promise I won't let you drown." He said, tugging on her to get her feet moving. She still seemed unsure, but she must've known by now he made promises rarely and was known to keep them.

The further she went in the more ragged her breathing became.

"Tell me why you never learned to swim" He said suddenly, in some hopes of taking her mind off of what he was pulling her to. She looked around her and he lifted a hand to make her look at him. He thought at first it would be a lost cause, but for once she didn't shy away from his gaze.

"M-my parents. They, uh, rarely let us out of the house, so..." She stammered as the water began rising above her navel.

"And so?" He prodded, allowing her to come closer to him as he pulled her further in.

"I, uh, n-never had to swim before. So how could I have known how to?" The water was well up to her chest by now and she sucked in a large breath of air. Vergil stood taller than her, so it only came up to his stomach. Soon her toes were touching nothing at all and she began to freak out.

"Amy!" He said sternly as she grasped for something to hold onto, namely him. "Calm down, I won't let you go." He crouched down so they were at eye level with one another. His arms were up under hers for balance. "Just breathe." He whispered to her.

She stared hard into his eyes, almost as if breaking the look would be her undoing. He began to take in slow, steady breaths. Amy began to mimic them, although a lot more broken by the racing of her heart. "Just close your eyes. Concentrate only on the water, your breathing, and my voice."

She closed her eyes and he watched her as she seemed to relax a bit, no longer seeing she was in water. But she did look a bit stupid in her attempts to breathe. Kind of like a fish out of water, gaping its mouth when it cannot breathe through its gills.

"You look like a fish" He mused, and suddenly she broke into a small smile. "Try breathing normally before you pass out." Still with her eyes tightly shut she slowed her breathing to normal. Problem was that once she'd slowed her heavy breathing he realized how heavy his had become. It always happened in the oddest of moments, but he felt warmth despite the cold water surrounding them. He pulled her a little closer, it being so easy with her floating just at arms reach. He was studying her face and wondering what in the world was happening to him. She looked so calm, so feminine. He noticed how small her arms were in comparison to his own, how her skin differed from his. The sunlight seemed to love her skin, where as pure sunlight made him look ghostly.

He hadn't realized that while he made his comparisons he had unknowingly pulled her very close to him. Not enough to be touching, but enough to know the plains of her face intimately. She hadn't seemed to have noticed, as her eyes were still closed so tightly. He didn't understand the urge to be so close to her, but he wanted to. He leaned in close to her face, smelling the coolness of her skin, and feeling the hair on his neck prickling as he went to kiss her.

At that moment though Amy jumped at him, arms going around his neck and her face looking over his shoulder. "Something touched my leg!" She skreeched in his ear. A part of him felt relieved, but another part of him felt dissapointed.

_What am I doing?_

---

Vergil dived from the second story window as Amy fell towards the water. He hated her, with every fiber of his being. He would not let her go so easily. As the icy cold water hit his body he suppressed the urge to inhale at the shock of it. It was soberingly cold, and it was dark as night. He looked around and noticed something white floating a ways away from him. It was his shirt, hanging limply on the body of its current owner. He lunged forward in the water and grabbed a hold of her arm.

_What if I drown? _He heard her voice as he touched her.

_I promise I won't let you drown...I won't let you go._

As he broke the surface of the water he pulled her and held her up. But she only slumped forward, going face first back into the water. He laid her head back on his shoulder as he side stroked his way to the nearest dock. He pushed her onto it, then climbed out himself.

The moon behind him was low in the sky tonight and had turned a blood red. Any passer by might've been intrigued by the sight of him as he lifted the girl up into his arms. Her long limbs dangling from his tall, lean frame as her wet hair shone red in the light from the blood moon.

Vergil carried her heavy body up to a locked door. With all the strength he could muster he kicked it, leaving it wide open as he entered. He laid her down on the floor of the dusty building and felt for a pulse, his own racing at a frantic pace. She'd jumped into the dark water wearing the necklace. It was this that had made him go after her into the freezing river. _That and nothing else..._

"Don't you _dare _die on me!" He snarled, taking hold of her wrist. A very faint throbbing could be felt there, but it was so weak. He leaned over, placing his head over her breast to listen more closely. She wasn't taking in air. _DAMNIT! _He felt like slapping her until she came back to him, but he knew that wouldn't work.

Vergil leaned over again; clamping her nose shut with his fingers and making an air tight cover over her mouth with his own. He exhaled deeply and felt her chest heave. He came up and began pumping at her chest, willing the water to come out of her lungs.

His mind was reeling. _Just let her die... Find someone else. _He should just let her die, right here on this filthy floor as a fitting end to another human's life. But another voice kept ringing through.

_I promise I won't let you drown..._

Somehow that child always managed to sneak its way into his thoughts. Polluting his mind with uncertainties he'd left behind with adolescence. Reminding him of an alternate world where she had been something to him.

He had meant to tell her so the night David attacked her. What exactly he was going to say now he couldn't remember, but that had held him up from joining her on the stairs. But when he saw the two of them at the bottom of them, something had snapped. He had been fooled by her, tricked. The moment he thought he could see her as something more than a stupid child, she had betrayed him. He wanted to kill them both. He would start with David, and save her for his main course.

But that wasn't what had happened. Rather than choking the life from her, all his reservations and emotions gave way. He lost control of everything and felt oddly drawn to her. He wanted to play with her, bat her around like a mouse caught by a cat. He was the stronger sex, and she was _his. _

But as soon as the electricity had shot through him, pressing him to invade her comfort zone, he felt something else. Tears. They weren't hers, they were his. He'd let go of her so quickly to hide his own guilt and shame. He couldn't let her see it, and she would every day after if he continued to be with her.

_The sunlight loves her... But you belong in the darkness of night._

"Amy!" He hissed at her when she still didn't move. He slapped her hard across the face in his frustration. "You are such a stupid girl!" He growled before continuing with CPR. After a long time Vergil wondered if he'd done more harm than help by pressing hard on her chest. Then Amy heaved upwards. Vergil sat back against wall behind him as she regurgitated water onto the floor, gasping for breath and curling on her side.

Vergil lifted her to a sitting position so she could get the rest of the murky water out of her system. When her dry heaving had stopped Amy fell back onto Vergil's lap. Vergil glared down at her, but noticed she didn't appear to be all there. Her eyes were glazed, half open, and her breathing was deep. _Is she asleep?!_ She had to be, because no creature alive would've even thought to touch him on pain of death. Let alone do something as foolish as fall asleep in his presence. He poked her arm.

"Hey! Get up! We don't have time for this." Vergil watched Amy, but she didn't budge. _Dump her off you, see how she likes that. _But Vergil sat still, looking down at the damp thing in his lap. It would be morning soon, and with the daylight would come less obstacles. She would be no good to him if she were too weak to stand, or even walk. _Hell if I'm carrying her. _Vergil tried to push his damp hair out of his face to no avail. It was still too heavy with water. He watched as droplets left his hair and pooled at the hollow of her throat.

The necklace shined brightly against her wet skin. It was almost as if the necklace were mocking him, daring him to try something. He absentmindedly lifted his hand out for it. He wondered... He reached out two fingers towards it, fully expecting hot flame to ignite there, but it did not come. As he clasped his fingers over it, it felt cold and metallic. _It must be because she's asleep._

Vergil leaned down over Amy as he traced a pathway to the clasp at the back of her neck. It was caught tightly between her neck and his leg. Her frowned down at Amy, and then slowly lifted her head off his lap, trying not to wake her, and trying to prevent a collision with his own lowered face. His wet hair hung limply, inches from her lips. He found the clasp after a moment and tried to unhook it with one hand as his other tried to elevate her with the other. The task wasn't an easy one with only one hand. Vergil grunted in frustration, caught in his dilemma. If he threw her off him, it would give him better access to the back of her neck, but chances are she would wake up. But at this awkward angle it seemed impossible for him to get it undone.

Vergil stopped dead as Amy turned on her side. She curled into a fetal position on his lap as she coughed softly. Vergil eyed the now exposed clasp at her throat. He licked his lip nervously as he once again made to slowly undo it without waking her. A few moments of silence and Vergil slipped the chain under her chin and at last it was his. No longer could she use it to torment him. Now he would feel nothing for her. He didn't dare put it on, not just yet. He tucked it away safely and leaned against the wall. He sighed heavily, because it had been a rough night.

And even more was to come. Vergil felt his eyes closing, which for him was unusual. Even during battle he had never suffered so much exhaustion as he had at this girl's hand. He looked down at her and wondered how a human girl could take so much out of him. He felt a yawn come and somehow he managed to nod off.

---

When he woke Amy was up. It was still dark out, but the moon shown brightly through the high windows of the old warehouse he had brought her to. He had probably awoken because he had felt her interference. There Amy sat, in front of him, tending to a wound at his shoulder. _When did that happen? _He wondered.

Vergil yanked his arm from her fiercely.

"So you're awake then?" She said peevishly.

"Get off" He replied, knocking her backwards with his arm. He noticed a dull pain as he did it. Had she done something to him while he slept, and then tried to repair it out of guilt?

"Stop being a baby" She shot at him. He grabbed her face with one hand and squeezed her jaw. She followed suit by biting him on the hand. She then punched him on the arm and he tensed at the pain. "Just shut up and hold still." She ordered at him, coming forward again to look at the wound.

"I see your shoulders better then." He said through gritted teeth. She paid him no mind, only used a torn piece of her shirt to clean up his arm. Minutes ticked by in silence as he let her work. After all, if he did get hurt while trying to save her it's the least she could do. Then Vergil felt something tickle his open palm. When he looked down he saw it was her hair as she bent over him to look at his shoulder.

Vergil didn't quite know why, but he noticed that her hair was like a curtain of velvet. It was illuminated by the pale moonlight coming through the window. Each auburn strand shone red in that light, and it gave it an aura-like glow. Then a dangerous urge came to him. He wanted to touch it, to feel the strands running over his fingers. He suppressed the urge with a cringe. He suddenly heard ripping and saw Amy pulling off a lower piece of her shirt to use as a bandage. His eyes lingered at her stomach for a moment and he suddenly felt flushed.

_What is happening? _He had the necklace, so what was this? Amy flicked her long hair out of her face, over her shoulder. But as she leaned over again the soft strands fell forward again. The curtain fell against his open palm and his hand twitched. The moon reflecting through it illuminated her profile against the dark hair. She hadn't seemed to have noticed his breathing had become shallow, or that he suddenly felt his mouth was dry.

The urge came again. His left arm was right under the curtain. All he had to do was reach up and make the contact. He fought it, but the urge was becoming stronger. Slowly he lifted his hand and gently smoothed it through her hair. Every nerve in his hand came alive as Amy suddenly looked up at him. Finally noticing him. Her green eyes looked at him confused, but she did not recoil from his touch.

Vergil could not explain his own actions, and at this point all logic had gone out of the window. He only knew one thing. He wanted her in that moment. He didn't want to explain it, and he would deal with the consequences of it all later.

"Vergil?" Amy asked as he pulled her kneeling form over his legs. He didn't let her ask questions because he didn't want to answer them. To her, or himself just yet.

"Amy" He whispered as he nuzzled his profile into the crook of her neck. He pulled her onto his lap and purred against her mouth as she didn't put up an objection to him. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her to flatten her form to his own. He used slow, languid movements with her. Almost as if afraid she might run if he moved too quickly. He wanted to savor his moment of insanity. He wanted her to drown him for a few moments in her light, in her familiarity. He wanted to steal that warmth from her and make it his own. To possess her as he always believed he had as a boy. But this time he didn't care if he spoiled her.

She trembled against him, but he was beyond caring whether or not it was out of fear. She had allowed him this close, and there would be no going back for them. He lifted his face to hers and whispered. "Do you want me to stop?" He hadn't asked it with any intention of actually following through, but he wanted to hear her say it.

"No" She said softly, with a small hint of embarrassment in her voice. She would feel shame enough for the both of them. He lifted his hands to her face as he tilted his head up to meet her lips, crushing them as his hands made sure she would have no second chance of escape.

He bent over to lay her on the dirty floor. Her eyes had glazed and she reached out to him as he pulled back to look at her. The moon made her skin look like his. He would take away her sunlight and bathe her in moonlight. She would never know the touch of another man as long as he lived.

As he leaned closer he noticed that her eyes were widening. As he bent down to kiss her though she suddenly screamed in his face, which angered him. He went to clasp a hand over her mouth only to find his pale skin had gone dark blue, and his nails were sharp and pointed.

"Stop screaming!" He yelled at her, but she continued. He slapped her hard across the face and ripped open the shirt she wore. She was crying now, but he didn't care. When he made to touch her all it did was leave large gashes from his claws on her skin. As he tried to kiss her he could taste her blood as his fangs left their mark on the sensitive skin of her mouth and she cried out in agony, trying to free herself from his grasp.

"You're killing her!" A voice suddenly said from ahead of him. To his horror he saw himself. More correctly, the boy he had been. The boy who had wanted to protect her. "Can't you see you're killing her?" He yelled again, anger seething in his eyes as he pointed down at them.

Vergil looked down and quickly jumped backwards. Amy was dead. Her skin was cold and rigid, eyes rolled back in her head and tongue hanging out of her mouth. A look of sheer terror was twisting her soft features into something unrecognizable.

_What have I done?_

---

Vergil woke with a start, his heart pounding in his ears as he tried to remember the dream. It was so vivid, and so real. He turned to see Amy curled a ways away from him. She was still in the same position she'd been before he'd fallen to sleep. He swallowed hard.

He had never experienced a dream like that before. He suddenly felt sick, like he might vomit from the memory of Amy's face. Of the boys face, HIS face, as he had stared down at himself.

Vergil closed the small distance between him and Amy to look down at her. She didn't look dead. She looked pale, no longer with the healthy glow she'd had only hours before. She looked sick to be honest.

He hated to admit that his own dream had frightened him. The way his actions at 15 with her had scared him enough to run away from her. What was happening to him? He didn't like the way he felt when he looked at her skin. It was almost as white as his and that seemed...wrong.

This had gone too far. His old memories wouldn't let him go, and he was beginning to feel...something that he didn't like. He wanted to distance himself from her, like someone avoiding a plague. Even now he felt the urge to reach out and touch her. He cringed. She would be the death of him, the downfall if he allowed her to live any longer.

Vergil looked around the room for something, anything that would help him erase her from his mind. He found a large piece of metal with a sharp end and loomed over her sleeping figure. He stood frozen, gazing down at her twisted form as he raised the heavy object over his head. He held it up for what seemed forever. A deafening ringing in his ears as he waited for his body to spring into action. She did not stir, or make a sound even as his shadow encompassed her form. _Do it NOW! _His insides were screaming. _Self preservation. _He had to do it, it was the only way. He raised it higher and brought it down with a sickening noise.

The bullet passed through his left breast pocket as he dropped the bar midair out of shock. He turned and didn't need to look to know who was standing there.

"Get the FUCK away from her" Dante growled, holding both guns up before him. Vergil noticed, with amusement, that Dante's eyes were as alive with anger as Vergil had never seen. Well, at least not in Dante.

"I don't believe you were invited brother" Vergil said smugly, blocking Amy from view as Dante had done the last time they met.

"I said" Dante sneered without a trace of the boyish quip Vergil was accustomed to. His voice trembled with rage. "get the FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" Dante shot another two rounds into Vergil's chest and he only laughed coldly as he took each bullet without so much as a flinch.

"I may not have a blade on me Dante, but you should know I could dispatch you with less" Vergil grinned. "Even with 100 of your bullets imbedded in my skin" He added.

"That is true" Dante said, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. "If the bullets imbedded in your body weren't laced with a poison made just for you..." He added. "Brother."

Vergil's face fell into a scowl. He had noticed something happening, but he hadn't recognized it for what it was until Dante had said it. _Poison? I'll kill that filthy half-breed! _Vergil suddenly felt very weak and tried to find something to hold onto. The room was spinning and soon he found himself staring up at the ceiling. He was having trouble focusing as he felt a sharp pain on his hand. Dante was standing on it.

"Don't worry Vergil. It won't kill you if that's what you're thinking. Luckily for you it will leave that part up to me"

Vergil suddenly felt the cold steal of Dante's blade at his throat. But he let out a loud, boisterous laugh as Dante looked down at him.

"W-what a dilemma you find yourself in m-my brother." Vergil gasped with a small mock laugh. "Kill me, or save her?"

Dante turned, as if remembering that Amy was there with them.

"I can't say I played nice with her. Looks close to death, doesn't she?" Vergil grinned. "And after she gave her life to save yours you choose to repay her by settling an old score even as the life drains from her body."

As Vergil had thought, Dante looked torn. _That right there... _Vergil reminded himself. ..._is what humanity gets you._ Given the choice he would've killed Dante and let her die.

Dante stood and glared down at Vergil, and Vergil knew that his mind would give way. After all, how many times had Vergil allowed him to live? Even if he loathed Vergil now, he would never let the girl die if he could help it.

But that didn't mean Dante forgot so easily. He drove his blade through Vergil's thigh all the way through the stone floor. Vergil let out a cry of pain, too weak to transform.

"That is from Joseph, you arrogant son of a..." But Dante stopped himself, and through his pain Vergil grinned. "She's your mother too." At this Dante twisted the blade and Vergil beat his fist into the floor at the agony of it. Dante made sure it was embedded deep enough to hold.

"I'll come back for you." He hissed, eyes gleaming with malice before he turned to pick Amy up. Vergil watched wearily as Dante, holding Amy tightly in his arms, left his sight. He laid his head back on the cool floor.

_It's for the best... _

Yes he was weakened, but not so much he couldn't... Suddenly the blade pulled itself from his thigh and he let out another roar of pain. He panted against the floor as he turned to what he thought was Dante. But as he turned it wasn't his face he saw.

"You?!" He asked. His eyes widening as the man picked up the metal bar Vergil had dropped earlier. He lifted it up over his head, outlined by the moon coming through the windows.

"Me" The voice responded, before swinging the pipe down with a crack across Vergil's skull.


	10. Jealousy

**Chapter 10! I'm so proud of myself for keeping up with this...lol Sorry if the update didn't come sooner. The new HP book clogged my weekend! Anyone else? lol**

**I think it's safe to say we have only 1 more chapter left after this! Don't quote me on it, but I believe that's the way things are going. This is the Dante/Amy chapter. Well, more Dante than Amy, but I don't think anyone will complain? I know I'm not:D Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Bleed for Me**

**Chapter 10**

_A few more minutes... just a few more. _She groaned inwardly as she felt the warmth of sunlight streaming through her bedroom windows. She felt so tired, all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep. She felt warm, clean, and exhausted against the sheets of her bed. The type of sleep you only get when you know you have to get up.

Her mouth felt dry and her body felt heavy. The air around her felt cold and sterile. Not at all like the musty scent her bedroom had whenever she'd left the windows closed for too long. It had always been that way because she had once, a long time ago, been a smoker. She had quit because her foster mom had talked her out of it. When she died unexpectedly Amy felt it needed to be done. She had loved Ms. Ivers for taking her in, and for adopting her even though she was almost old enough to live on her own. So she had quit, but the scent of smoke had never really left the apartment. The lingering scent had always been a comfort to her.

But she noticed the scent again and suddenly felt out of place. She slowly peeled her eyelids open to be practically blinded by the white ceiling above her. Her eyes strained to focus, as if she hadn't seen sunlight in years. She moved her limbs, noticing they felt tight and weak all at the same time. Then it returned to her, like a wave of cold water.

_Vergil..._ Had she actually jumped out of that window to avoid him? Her rational mind would've screamed in protest at the idea, but she hadn't been rational then. She had been desperate and afraid of the look in his eyes. But, where was she now?

Almost as if someone had slowly turned the volume up she noticed a rhythmic noise close to her. She peeled herself from off the bed to notice she was hooked up to machines, all of which seemed to be indicating she was alive and breathing. As she made to sit up though she found the source of the one noise she couldn't place. Dante lay with his head just to the side of her right arm. She smirked as a loud snore escaped his mouth. She leaned over and laid a hand on his shoulder and he moved a bit, rubbing his face further into the covers.

Amy leaned over to his side and blew directly into his ear. He turned his head to protect it and now he was facing her. She grinned at him.

"Dante" She said gruffly. Her mouth still dry as a desert. For a moment he stretched his neck and slowly opened his eyes. Lazily he smirked at her, as if she were nothing more than a figment of his imagination. Yet as she flicked the tip of his nose with her finger he suddenly sat bolt upright, almost falling off his chair.

"Don't DO that!" He groaned, hands covering his face. "You'll scare a man half to death being that close without any make up."

She only smiled at him as he went to stand, stretching as far as his arms could go. She was so relieved to see him. To see anyone who didn't make her feel threatened. Dante leaned over the bed looking at her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked with a sleepy smile on his face.

"Fine, I guess." She replied playing with her covers.

"Good. Then stay put." He said suddenly grabbing his coat and throwing it over his shoulder. Amy stared blankly at his back as he walked towards the door.

"WAIT!" Amy called out to him. He turned to look at her. "Where are you going?" She finally asked when Dante refused to read the question in her eyes.

"Vergil." He said casually. "You'll be safe here, he shouldn't bother you anymore." Her face suddenly paled again.

"D-did you kill...?" She gaped at him.

"No, not yet." He said with a note of dissatisfaction.

"I-I don't understand! Why would he just let me go, I have the..." She began, but froze when her hand clasped around air at her throat. _Where is the necklace?! _She looked back up at Dante and he confirmed her fear.

"You see why I have to go? I didn't notice it was missing at first. I thought the doctors took it off you when I brought you in, but they said you weren't wearing any jewelry when we arrived." Dante turned towards the door again.

"Let me go with you!" Amy began pulling off all the contraptions stuck to her, but as soon as she went to leave the bed she felt her legs give way. She would've hit the floor if Dante hadn't caught her in time.

"You can't come with me. You can barely stand." He smirked at her when she attempted to try again. He suddenly felt her hand grasping onto his shoulder.

"Please don't go." She said in a broken, desperate tone. She was thinking of the last time he and Vergil met. She knew Dante was strong, but somehow she could see him not making it back this time.

Dante took her shoulders and sat her back on the bed, looking determinedly at her. "Don't worry, I'll come back to check on you once this is over with. You've played your part in this, and I won't let you get in the middle any more." His voice was firm. "I'm ending this."

_Your brother will be down shortly Amy. Just wait for him..._

"You really are Vergil's brother." Amy whispered. She turned her head to look away from him, hurt reflected in her tone.

"What makes you say that?" He asked giving her a confused look.

"Vergil decided to leave then because it was _best for me_, and now you say the same thing. Like I haven't been living this with you? Haven't I proven enough to be able to decide whether or not I remain involved?"

"He tried to kill you Amy." Dante said gravely. She pulled back from his hands and just stared at him. "If I had come a second later..." He paused as she began shaking her head at him. "Let him GO!" He pleaded with her. "What will it take to show you? For you to realize her doesn't care what happens to you, or me!"

Dante grabbed her arm and lifted the gown's arm up to reveal the cut there. "He did that to you!" He yelled at her. When she wouldn't look at him he went to rip the neckline down to expose the stitches on her shoulder. Amy pushed him away and smacked him.

"What is wrong with you two?" She said angrily. "What do you think I am? Some toy for you two to play with? I'm tired of being pawed by BOTH of you!" Amy wrapped the covers around herself and felt her cheeks burning with red. She couldn't meet his eyes. The situations with them before she'd blacked out had been so sensitive. Her and Vergil at the piano, by the door. Dante in her room. She didn't like how familiar she was getting to their touch, and especially how comfortable they seemed to be at treating her like a mindless doll.

"I wasn't trying to do..anything" Dante replied. But Amy noticed his eyes had darkened when she'd said it. He turned from her and headed again to the doorway, his back rigid as he walked. "I'll come back and check on you." He said tonelessly to her without looking over his shoulder.

Amy watched him leave the room and sank back into her bed. She watched out the window for a long time without so much as a sigh to indicate her current thoughts on the situation. Maybe it was better to leave it alone. She had never wanted to be a part of this even when she had been thrown into it unwillingly. But something was happening within her. She felt a change since the two had come into her life. She could never hope to be a part of their world, she knew that, but she also knew that their interruption of hers had woken her from a long slumber. As much as Dante and her butted heads, as much as Vergil had hurt her, she had never felt so alive. So needed. She felt shame at these thoughts. Amy knew full well her actions could've gotten her killed time and time again, but she could allow these thoughts while in the comfort of knowing she'd survived it.

She had also found comfort in a memory she couldn't place. It could've been a dream, she wasn't really sure after all that must've happened between her fall and waking up here. But she thought she'd seen Vergil in her dream. They were in a large building that smelled of water and dust, and Vergil was asleep a ways away from her. In his sleep he had called out her name in a tone she'd never heard him use before. It sounded strained, and desperate. "What have I done?" He'd said.

She didn't remember anything else, and she wasn't sure if it was real or not, but she couldn't get the sound of him saying her name out of her head. She covered her face with her hands, not knowing what to believe. _He tried to kill you! _Dante's voice, and Vergil's clashed in her mind. Fighting there as they would be doing again as soon as Dante found him.

She was tired of being told to stay put, to hide, to not follow. The result of each of those demands had all been bad. David's nasty trick, her brother's death, and now what would happen to Dante? True, she was no match for Vergil, but the thought of him calling to her… It gave her hope. Something she hadn't had in years.

Amy pushed herself up from the bed. Her legs seemed to have remembered how to walk, and so she made her way to where her clothes sat dry on a chair. She picked up Vergil's shirt and stared at the bloodstains on it. The large one near the abdomen where she had stabbed him and now the one on the back shoulder where he had stabbed her. She slipped back into it and it felt warm. It felt familiar in this cold an unfamiliar place.

She didn't know what would become of her now, but she felt she was too involved to turn back. How could Dante expect her to step back into her life as if nothing had happened? She had made up her mind by the time she'd pulled everything back on and quietly slipped out of the room.

----------

Dante had tightly closed the door behind him, leaving Amy where she would be safe. Despite this though he felt a sudden urge to punch something and he didn't know why. A few nurses skirted past him with nervous looks as he plowed down the hallway, but he wasn't feeling like paying them any mind.

When he had made it outside he just stood looking up at the building with a feeling of unease at Amy's farewell words to him. He felt a pang of guilt, as he hadn't had any intention of returning to see her once he had finished this. At least, not where she would notice him checking on her. Perhaps he was angry that Amy had sensed the lie as he'd said it. Her eyes had looked at him with such mistrust and he felt their time together previous hadn't warranted her to not trust him. But really, why should she?

They, he and Vergil, had turned her world upside down and she'd suffered much at both of their hands. _Both… _No, that was what had angered him. Dante had mishandled her unwillingly because of her pull on him and had apologized, but what had Vergil done to her? He had thought it impossible for him to do anything but mistreat her, hurt her physically and emotionally. Had Dante been so blind to think Vergil could've been so immune to the most natural of human needs? Vergil was _his_ twin after all, and possibly just as susceptible to feel desire as he was. Although Dante had never even thought of that possibility when worrying over Amy's well being at his brothers hands.

But Amy had said it just the same, and he couldn't wipe the thought away. He also didn't understand why he should care. He didn't love her. He wondered sometimes if he were incapable of the emotion only because he'd been with many women over the years, but had never felt anything beyond lust for them. Amy, well, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't somewhat enjoyed the closeness they had shared that night, but he knew that too wasn't love. For Amy though he felt a need to protect her from his world. He'd seen so much of himself in her stubbornness that he couldn't help but want to. But that was a completely different beast all together. Perhaps they could've been friends if they met under different circumstances. Although he knew even then he was too much of a jealous person to sit back and watch another man waltz into her life and take her attention from him. That is why he avoided relationships with others, and it wasn't helping now at the thought of Vergil being so close to her.

The thoughts that had gone through his mind when she'd screamed at him about being "pawed", as she'd put it, had made his blood run cold. It had brought back the guilt he'd felt at what he'd done, but it also put thoughts into his mind of what Vergil must've done to be put in that category with Dante. And for some reason this made his angrier than finding Vergil standing over her with the intent to kill.

Dante scuffed his boot on the ground and turned away from the building. She would be gone from them both now, and he would be able to focus exclusively on Vergil. He pulled the map from his pocket and glanced at it.

"I know I could've been killed over it" Joseph had said to him with a smug smirk on his face. "but I couldn't let the bastard win. I gave him some old, worthless diary from the back and told him the clues he needed were in there."

"You are so lucky he didn't figure it out yet." Dante replied, grinning at him.

"And by the time he does hopefully he'll either be dead, or I'll have split town." Joseph shrugged. "I can't promise he won't find an alternative means of getting the information, but I can give you this." He dropped down behind the bar and pulled up a loose floorboard by his foot. Inside was another false floor which he pulled up to reveal a safe. He began to turn the dial on it, but stopped to glower up at Dante who quickly looked away. "Can never be _too _careful."

He pulled it open and to Dante's surprise it was filled with...junk.

"It's NOT junk." Joseph said defensively. "Do you realize how much some of this stuff is worth on our side? You wouldn't be able to appreciate this kind of stuff, never being there yourself." He dug through his "treasures" and pulled out a large leather bound book. He laid it on the table before them and flipped it open. It looked like a large field notebook, with writing as well as detailed drawings.

"What's this?" Dante asked, trying to read an inscription upside down.

"This my boy is my prized possession. I've been around the block a few times in search of rare items. You hear stories along the way of course and your interest gets piqued. Everything I've ever learned I keep locked in here. And..." He said as he flipped to a marked page. He turned it around to Dante. "Look familiar?"

He looked at the drawing and recognized it right away as Amy's necklace.

"This is everything I know pertaining to the necklace as well as its original owner. The place in question you seek isn't close I'm afraid, but you could make it there in about a day by train. I also cannot guarantee this is in fact the actual resting place of the old devil because I couldn't get into the place when I went to check it out."

"Why not?" Dante asked.

"Other creatures are lured by the dark aura it gives off. I may be greedy, but I rather enjoy living. YOU however could take them on without hurting yourself, couldn't you?"

"Why do I feel like I'm being used to further your notes?" Dante eyed him closely.

"Well, the _least_ you could do is let me know how it all goes! Consider it payment for all the help I've given, and it's a bargain I'd say." Joseph scowled at him and crossed his arms over his chest.

Dante seemed to have cooled down by the time he'd made it to the train station. He had, of course, told Joseph that he would come back with some elaborate, action packed tale.

"I don't want none of that egocentric stories." He'd growled in reply. "All I want is whatever FACTS you can add to the book."

But he had a new problem to deal with. He had returned to the warehouse to find Vergil had gone. This was troubling him because the trail of blood left behind looked as if Vergil had dragged himself away. The trail had led out of the door to the end of a dock, and Dante knew Vergil was too weak to fly. So where was he?

Dante also knew he was being followed. He had noticed the boy in the red baseball cap on the walk here. At first he'd figured they were headed in the same direction, but when he'd tested the theory by weaving in and out of alleyways the boy had continued to follow at a distance.

Dante could feel his eyes on him as he searched for a compartment to slide into. When he'd found an empty one he slid inside and waited. The boy would have to go by him to get to a seat, and when he did...

Dante grabbed the boy by the scruff of his collar as he passed and threw him against the wall. The force of it made the sunglasses he wore fall part way off and green eyes looked nervously up at him. He suddenly smelled rose water.

"I outta throw you off this train" He snarled at Amy as he let go of her shirt. "What the HELL were you thinking?!"

She rearranged her clothing and moved to the opposite side of the compartment from him.

"I know you're angry" She began, putting her hands up in a placating gesture.

"Angry?! You haven't seen me angry YET" He yelled. At the snarl in his tone she sat down in the seat, looking up at him wide eyed.

"Look, I didn't come to fight." She said taking off the baseball cap.

"Then what?" He asked. "What could you POSSIBLY contribute to this journey? Aside from an extra corpse to be cleaned up in the aftermath?" She looked like he had poured cold water on her. "You're getting off at the next stop." He said coldly, sitting down across from her. He crossed one leg over the other and turned to gaze out the window with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You weren't going to come back, were you?" She asked suddenly. Dante didn't answer, just kept looking out the window. "I knew you weren't."

"Well then, we'll have a proper goodbye as soon as we hit the next station." He said moodily, eyes glaring at a speck on the window.

"Not if we don't kill each other first." She said shrugging. He turned and looked at her as she stretched out and sat against the window. She crossed her leg in the opposite direction his were going and folded her hands in her lap rather than crossing them as he was. Then she just sat staring at him.

"Knock it off." He ordered.

"Not doing anything" She replied, now bouncing her leg to some music only she could hear. And she went silent at this, looking around the compartment.

_This is just great... _He thought bitterly. Why did she have to disobey him? He had more than enough to worry about without her gluing herself to his hip on top of it. Now he could understand Vergil's annoyance at her following him everywhere. And yet she was deliberately not looking at him which was annoying him even more. He didn't like quiet if there were other people around, and it was beginning to get old pretty quick.

"Where did you get those stupid clothes?" He asked, looking at her oh-so-obvious "disguise". Aside from the bright red baseball cap, and studded black sunglasses she also wore faded jeans that were obviously girls and a bulky plaid button down shirt. No doubt she'd worn the shirt over hers in some hope that it would make her look less curvy and more burly. Problem was in the get up she looked more like a girl with an identity crisis.

"From home." She said, still looking out the window.

"And you thought that would cut it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm sorry. Not all of us know where to get Halloween costumes all year round." She said with a smirk as she glanced sideways at him.

"That's IT!" Dante groaned. He got to his feet and started discarding his coat. He kicked off his boots and began to undo his pants.

"AH! What are you doing?!" Amy yelled, covering her eyes.

"We're switching clothes. Take them off" She heard him say.

"No way am I wearing that thing!" She yelped as she shook her head.

"I'm getting sick and tired of having my clothes made fun of." He grumbled as he put a hand on his hip, looking at her with his head tilted to the side.

"I won't then!" She laughed, putting her hands up to block his exposed torso from view. "Just put your clothes back on!"

Yeah, he was angry at her for coming, but he found it hard not to smile at how red she was. Not to mention, her laughter was a nice distraction from having to think about where he was going. He threw his jacket back on and sat down on the seat opposite of her. She sighed in relief and followed suit.

"Good thing too." She said with a smirk.

"What's that?" He asked, slumping back and putting his feet up just on her left.

"I'd be horrified to see that you could probably fit into my jeans."

Dante narrowed his eyes at her but she only continued to smirk as she sat back in her seat.

"So, where are we going?" She asked, kicking her feet up on the side of him.

"_I _am going to find Vergil. _You _are going home." He said coolly.

"_You _are a stubborn jackass." She retorted. "With no hips"

"..and great hair." He added, eyeing her with a smirk. She pursed her lips, but a smile was playing somewhere in it. The room fell silent again as Amy leaned close to the window, staring out at the scenery as it passed.

"I've never been on a train before." She said excitedly. "I rarely ever got a chance to travel, even after I lost my Nana."

"Your what?" Dante asked. Amy laughed.

"Sorry. That's what I called Mrs. Ivers. The woman who fostered, then adopted me. I was so nervous when I first met her that I called her Mrs. Ivers all the time. I didn't know if I was supposed to call her that, or her real name, or if Mom was appropriate." Amy paused with a small smirk. "I was a very confused girl. So she told me that I could call her whatever I wanted to. Since my real mother had died, I couldn't bring myself to call her Mom, but as time wore on I began to love her too much to call her Mrs. Ivers. So I called her Nana, after a doll I'd had as a child that I loved."

Dante suddenly thought of the picture he'd seen in her living room. Amy with her arms entwined with an older looking woman. That must be her then.

"Where's she now?" Dante asked. Amy looked sideways out the window as she answered.

"She died. She never told me, but we only knew one another for a few years before she passed, that she had been having troubles with her health. I never once suspected that she was ill, because she hid it so well. One day though I came home to find her dead." Amy had he look of someone who had accepted it well enough, but still had troubles in thinking of it. "The doctors never even knew she was ill either. She was old, but she seemed so alive leading up to her death. I guess...death follows me"

Amy's tone at these words was somber, but he could tell she was attempting to joke about it. But he couldn't ignore the look in her eyes that said it was something she'd probably believed in her darkest of moments.

"Dante. Please let me come with you." She said suddenly. "I don't know how I can help you, but something is telling me that I need to finish this." She looked at him pleadingly as she bent forward to place a hand on his.

Dante looked down at her hand, then took hold of it with his own. He opened her palm and pretended to be examining it. "You know why I can't let you." He said, allowing his eyes to flash up at hers. She didn't move as he did it. "If I were to try and kill Vergil. What would you do? Would you stand back and let me?" He watched as her eyes faltered.

"You don't understand." She said calmly. "We could just stop him, and..."

"And what?" He said, still keeping his tone passive. "He'll just go away and he won't attempt to kill us both and the rest of humanity while he's at it?"

"There has got to be another way!" She said in a desperate tone. "I can't let you kill him."

"Which is why you cannot come with me Amy. You're too heavily involved in this emotionally. What I don't get is how you can harbor any feelings for that uncaring monster." Dante said with a low rumble in his voice.

"You must care for him too. He is your brother after all! For loathing each other so much, you both are still alive aren't you?" She replied, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"Until now. Things have taken a sudden turn. Vergil has never gotten so close to destruction like this before. And whether you want to believe it or not I DO care what happens to you once this is all over with. Yes, I was going to leave without so much as a goodbye, but even you can't deny you understand my reasoning."

He ran a finger across her palm and she just stared at him, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"Vergil is out there somewhere, and the best I could ever use you for is bait. I won't do it." He said with a tone of finality. "You humans, I swear. What is it about my kind you can't seem to let go of? As much as you preach about what I've done to you Amy, you are just as guilty of it." He looked up to meet her eyes, and her gaze faltered at his.

"See! Right there! Who do you see when you look at me Amy?" Dante said, pulling her hand forward so she was looking up at him. "Do you see Vergil? Does your heart race, and wish it were him who sat here, holding your hand?"

"I-I'm sorry." She said weakly, averting her eyes from his.

"Even in your room. It wasn't me you were kissing, it was a memory of him. I've hurt _you_? Try looking in my eyes once and not seeing him reflected there."

Dante continued to look at her, even if she was having trouble looking at him. He didn't know why it hurt so much, but a part of it did. He didn't understand the rivalry that had sprung up at the idea of her seeing him this way. But he had always been jealous of his older brother. Sometimes he thought it would be easier to just give into the temptations like Vergil did. After all, Vergil hadn't bothered spending all these years so obsessed with Dante that he had followed him almost everywhere. No, it had been Dante's obsession with Vergil that had taken a true life from him.

He had spent many nights in the comfort of women to fill a void that had always been there. He substituted companionship for sex and it had worked for the few hours it had lasted. But Dante new it was meaningless, and that by the time he'd crept out of the room he would feel the emptiness again that would send him head first after his twin. It was companionship he craved, and only Vergil could've ever filled that void. Because he was his other half. The only person like him who could know what it felt like to live his day to day life.

And while Amy was just another human, she was as unattainable to him as Vergil was. Because she too was obsessed with Vergil. It was this common bond that made it hurt, because even if he had hurt her, she had spent more time with Vergil than he ever had. Vergil had even protected her, even if it was for an ulterior motive. Dante envied their childhood together, as much as he now envied the girls hold on his brother. On him.

For him now she was their linking bond. Dante knew now that what he'd felt that night between them, the greed of what he'd done, had been a bitter attempt to take something from Vergil. The only thing Dante had ever found in Vergil's past that might've been something pure to him. That selfish side of him, the jealous part had wanted to hurt Vergil. But after all, he couldn't do it. The necklace had amplified the temptation, but his better judgment had won out.

Yet, as she sat across from him, her hand cupped in his, he suddenly felt that longing to give into temptation. Even if she would only see Vergil in his eyes, he could forget even that for a short while.

"Dante, let me come with you." She asked again when he had paused, still looking at her hand. He lowered his face down and kissed her open palm. He heard her gasp, felt the pull of her arm from him, but he held tight with his own so she couldn't take it away. He looked up at her the way he might if he were on the prowl for the night's latest conquest.

"What would you be willing to do..." He said quietly into her palm. "To prove to me that Vergil is the last thing on your mind?"

Amy stared down at him, her eyes wide. She looked at him as if she had never seen him before, and Dante felt a low chuckle as he watched her. Of course she didn't know him. She had only caught glimpses of him from time to time. Dante was a distorted man. He was a good tempered guy who enjoyed being around others and being the center of attention. But he was also a man who knew how to push buttons, who sometimes took pleasure from fiddling with others emotions. Especially when he felt angry, his moods could be as dark and unpredictable as Vergil's. _We are brothers after all..._

"D-don't joke about things like that." Amy said, glaring down at him as she tried to pull her hand free. Dante only smiled smugly up at her with a vice like grip on her hand.

"Who said I was joking?" He said calmly.

"Let me go!" She hissed at him. "I'm not _that _desperate! If I must, I'll travel on my own to find Vergil!" She made to stand and began towards the door, but Dante pulled her back onto the seat beside him. They now sat face to face, Amy's hand clutched between them.

"Let him go." Dante whispered to her, his eyes examining her face. He leaned in and could smell the rose water there. When he had lifted her from the warehouse, she had smelled of Vergil. From the shirt she wore to her skin itself and he had loathed every second of it as he carried her to safety. But now there was no trace left of his brother there, except in the hollows of her green eyes when she looked at him.

"I won't." Amy whispered back, craning her neck as far back as she could from him. Dante leaned in anyway, but didn't kiss her. The closeness was claustrophobic, but the loss of breath had nothing to do with that. _You can lead a horse to water..._ Dante thought as he leaned down and left a small kiss on her collarbone. He felt her react against her will and it pleased him, so he did it again. This time though he let his lashes brush against the side of her neck as he deepened the kiss on her collar.

"Give in." He whispered against her skin as a tremor ran through him. His weight was beginning to lay her back as she tried to get away from him. "Don't fight it."

She had her eyes tightly closed and her breathing was irregular beneath him. He ran a hand up under the ridiculous plaid shirt she was wearing and felt the cotton of her undershirt. She shot her hand down at his and pushed away.Out of nowhere she grabbed a hold of him and hugged him. Flung her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. He could feel her crying.

"I'm sorry!" Her muffled voice said somewhere below his face. It was like a cold shower, bringing him back from his deviant thoughts. Reminding him of his promise to protect. Suddenly the anger and the need to seduce he had felt washed away. He reached his arms out and placed them around her, bringing her up to sit again.

"No, I'm sorry." He said slowly, wrapping his arms about her as she made a job of dampening his neck. He felt a little feeble, sitting there with her like that. Even he knew it was wrong to take advantage of her current situation. Whatever fight there was between him and Vergil, it wasn't her fault. She was dragged into this more than she needed to be, and taking her in further would only make it worse. Dante sighed. _This is where we differ Vergil. _

Dante turned to sit flat against the seat trying very hard to ignore the warmth still flowing through him. Remarkable how a weeping woman can really kill the mood. But as Dante turned towards the window he felt Amy lean her head on his shoulder.

"I am sorry Dante. You've been nothing but good to me, but I can't..." She began, but Dante lifted his arm to allow her to lean further into him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"If you had, I don't know if I could've lived with myself after it was over with." He said tiredly. Amy looked up at him from the crook of his arm.

"I still can't come with you. Can I?" She asked, her face a bit downcast. Dante was about to answer when he suddenly felt the train give a lurch forward. Both of them almost fell out of the seat as screaming was heard somewhere beyond their room. Dante stood to listen more closely.

"What is it?!" An unknown voice yelled before a blood curdling scream was heard in the corridor outside. Dante took Amy's hand and tucked her behind him as the sound of something walking came closer to their compartment. Then at once the footsteps stopped and silence was all that met their ears.

Dante's heart was pounding. Was it Vergil? Had he seen what had almost transpired between him and Amy? If so he'd be plenty pissed. Dante pulled his guns out and aimed for the windowed door. Suddenly he heard footsteps above them and shot a few rounds into the ceiling. Amy ducked down, covering her ears with her hands.

Dante returned his gaze to the glass doorway. Something was taking in deep, raspy breaths just outside their door. He heard the sudden sound of metal being hit and ducked down by Amy just in time as a large scythe blade practically cut through the room side ways. A loud cackle could be heard as a large, hooded figure entered through the doorway. It was too big to fit into the compartment with them, and so it began chopping away at where Dante stood. Dante shot at the thing, but it only proved to piss it off more.

He grabbed hold of Amy and without even thinking about it rammed himself through the window to the outside. He wrapped his form around hers to protect her from the glass, and from the fall he was not sure of yet. Luckily they were on the side of a small bank, so they rolled a ways before Dante could stand again and see the true horror of what had stopped the train.

Up ahead was a large mound of...something that undulated and seemed to swallow the front car into its mass.

On top of the car walked a handful of dark creatures who's bodies contorted as they moved with unnatural speed. _Demons…_ Their eyes glowed with a burning light as they surveyed the area, searching.

"Get down." Dante said quietly, pushing her behind a bush as they caught sight of him. One of them let out a high pitched, guttural noise that brought the others to alert. Soon they were all yowling in those grating voices and Dante could feel it echoing in his head. He grabbed Amy's hand and took off running as one by one they leapt down towards them. His first thought only to lure them away from the train.

Again the maniacal laughter reached his ears as he and Amy threw themselves forward just in time to miss the scythe as it sliced through the heavy trees around them. They had to act quick to avoid the trees that suddenly fell down around them. As they hit the ground however, a tree aimed directly between them, almost crushing their hands if they had not let go at the last second. The tree barred his way to her.

"Dante!" She yelled when she could no longer see him.

"Just stay put!" He growled, looking around as the dark void of a cloaked figure rose from the ground in front of him. He lunged forward, but suddenly felt something grab his ankle. He looked down to see one of the dark creatures pulling at it through a small gap in the fallen trees. It grinned at him, its eyes narrowing as it sunk sharp claws into his boot. Dante kicked at it with his other leg and lifted his sword just in time as the scythe came down over him.

"Back off!" He heard Amy shriek. To his amazement she had taken a loose branch and began lashing violently at the creature, which let Dante go with a angry yell of his own.

"Don't piss the thing off!" Dante called to her, as he kicked the hooded figure in the face.

"You're welcome!" She yelled back at him. He could still hear the rustling of the branch she was using as a weapon. Dante got to his feet and launched himself at the hooded sin scythe, figuring his best bet would to take care of it first. But it disappeared before he could get to it and he felt his throat run dry as he heard the maniacal laughter on the _other _side where Amy now stood.

Dante began climbing over the fallen trees in an attempt to get to her. She was surrounded by the dark demons, and the scythe itself was advancing on her. He jumped down right onto the things back with a gleeful laugh at the sound of breaking bone under him. It writhed in pain as he landed on the soft grass with ease.

Dante turned to challenge the rest, but they were bowing backwards into the trees, looking terrified. A blade plunged into the ground out of nowhere in front of Dante. The Yamato blade sinking into the dirt at the hilt. Dante glared up to the tree and saw a dark figure standing on a branch. It was oddly shaped, with one shoulder larger than the other.

"Dante!" Amy suddenly yelled. But it wasn't from behind him, it was from that branch. The oddly shaped shoulder was Amy, and her captor's eyes shone a distinct blood red. Vergil's form grinned down at him.

"Say goodbye, Dante." Vergil growled at him before disappearing, taking Amy with him.

"VERGIL!" Dante called out as the demons began coming back out of the woodwork around him.


	11. Pain

**And we're back! Sorry for taking so long on this, I went on vacation for a week. While I had net access, I had no time to sit down and write. Not to mention I got stuck quite a bit on this chapter. I've rewritten a lot until I felt I had something I liked.**

**As mentioned in the previous chapter, don't quote me on anything...lol This is not the last chapter as I felt more was needed, and my mind thought of more ideas (which is dangerous!). I should've known better, so this time I'm not saying when it will end until the final chapter is up. I'm sticking to his guns this time! Oops, I mean "my" guns... yeah, heh...**

**Another warning this time around. Things are getting darker, and there is acts of torture in this chapter. I never meant originally for this story to be so dark, but I'm trying to throw in a bit of humor to keep it from going overboard. I had a hard time writing the last scene of this chapter, but I don't feel I would've done it any other way.**

**I hope you guys will like this chapter, and as always feel free to comment openly. Constructive criticism is warmly welcomed and encouraged. Can't learn anything if you don't help me! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Bleed for Me**

**Chapter 11**

"Come on you bastards!" Dante growled as the demons closed ranks around him. _I don't have time for this bullshit! _Why weren't they attacking?

He lunged forward with deafening speed and sliced through one of them. It let out an ear splitting death shriek as its upper half fell from its lower. He turned to face the rest, and while they looked ready to fight him they were hesitating. _What are they waiting for?_

Dante lowered his weapon and still they did not move to attack him. They all appeared to be staring down at Vergil's blade, still sunk into the ground by Dante's side. He went to touch it and suddenly they began to chatter nervously to one another. Dante grabbed hold of it and wrenched it from the ground. He held Rebellion in one hand, and Yamato in the other. As soon as he had lifted it up the demons all threw themselves at him, landing in a large pile on top of him. He could feel dozens of teeth, and claws digging their way into every exposed piece of flesh. Luckily his jacket's thick leather held up to them. He spun the blades outward, knocking the demons, and their decapitated limbs, away from him. One of the sin scythe's crossed into his line of vision. As he caught the scythe's eye it looked almost terrified at the sight of him.

"That's right bitch." He growled as he ran towards her. She tried to move out of his way, but he caught her just before she could teleport. He ripped both blades through her with an incredible speed, shredding her like a paper doll. Not quite as cleanly though. She fell into a bloody pile onto the ground, her body parts still twitching, not realizing they should be dead. Dante swung around, but the other demons had scattered to the wind.

Something was off about this. Why were they retreating? He looked down at Yamato in his hand, then thought of Vergil. It was a crazy idea that was going through his mind, but then again...

_I poisoned him. _He thought. _I injured him too and yet... _He looked as healthy as ever, balancing so well on the branches above, and holding a struggling girl to boot. What was bothering him more was the fact that he hadn't _sensed_ Vergil before he saw him at all. He always knew when his brother was close. Not because Vergil gave off a demonic aura, but because they were twins. It was hard to describe, but it had always been that way. The two had always had trouble playing hide and seek with one another as children because they immediately knew where the other was.

When they got angry with one another Dante usually went off on his own to get away from Vergil. No matter how hard he tried his mother would always send Vergil to find him, and he always would. It was this bond that Dante had always relied on to find where he was going, although on a much larger scale. It was harder at a greater distance, but he always managed to be in the right places at the right time to intercept Vergil. But not this time.

Dante knew whoever was in that tree was not Vergil. Dante thought of the blood trail left behind in the warehouse where he'd left him pinned to the floor. It would explain where Vergil had gone, and that the thing that took Amy most likely had Vergil as well.

Dante leaned back to look up into the sunlit sky, a deep sigh rattling from his chest. It would be dark in a few hours, and with the night would come less fear from the demons. Even if this thing was controlling them, they wouldn't hesitate if met in the dark when they were more powerful. He was debating on Yamato. Bring it with, or leave it here? He didn't know why, but he felt the urge to bring it along. It could be useful if he met anything.

_Or... _Dante grinned as he looked at the blade. The overgrowth before him was pretty thick, it would take time to get through, not to mention he'd recently polished Rebellion... His grin widened as he began to hack away at bushes, branches and anything else blocking his way with Vergil's blade. He could almost hear Vergil swearing at him from here.

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Amy didn't know what to think as she felt her feet touch solid ground. Before she could even get a word out she saw something come down over her eyes, and she was blindfolded.

"Get moving." Vergil's familiar voice growled from behind her, pushing her forward. She practically fell over as her feet went from grass to solid stairs. For a long time he was quiet, and it was terrifying.

"Say something!" Amy pleaded as she almost fell again. She became pinned against a wall and heard a door being opened somewhere to her right. Something seemed wrong about this. He was colder than usual, and it was frightening her.

"Shut up and move!" She felt a hand at her back, pushing her again. Stairs, going down this time. Further and further down she went, falling forward onto her knees when suddenly the last step ended. He lifted her from behind and moved her forward again. Then finally a sound of another door being opened.

"No!" She heard a voice screaming in front of her somewhere. She felt a shove forward, and when no one moved to pick her up from the floor she ripped off the blindfold. As she did so a door closed behind her. She turned in time to see Vergil's dark profile as he closed the door and locked her in.

"Stop!" The other voice called out again, and as she turned to look into the room she gasped. Vergil was bound to the wall, sitting on the floor with his arms raised in irons at his wrists. A large trail of blood snaked its way down from his head, staining his clothing and making him look gaunt and haunted. _But how did he get here when he just...?_

"Vergil?" Amy said, crawling cautiously to his side.

"I wouldn't get too close." An unfamiliar voice from outside the room called.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked, not really knowing where it was the voice was coming from. It seemed all around them. "Tell me!"

"Hmmm... Poison probably." The voice said in a cheerfully cold tone. "Looks like it's in its middle stages now. Delirium. I've seen plenty of half breeds suffer from this, but none as entertaining as him."

"Don't do it!" Vergil said weakly, cowering from Amy's touch. "It hurts, IT HURTS!" He screamed in agony as he twisted against his bindings. Amy could see fresh blood seeping from his wrists at the effort he used to pull against crudely constructed cuffs.

"Stop this!" Amy begged. "Can't you see this could kill him?!" Vergil was strong, but poisoned? Amy wasn't sure what strength could do for even him.

"Die?" The voice chuckled. "Not yet. Not until I want him to." She heard footsteps walk away as someone laughed. The noise reverberated around the stone room Amy sat in with Vergil. She looked for a means to escape, but the only connection to outside was a barred window that was embedded deep into the stone walls. The remains of the daylight was coming through the bars, laying across Vergil's twisted form as it fought some inner demon.

Amy went to sit by him again as another convulsion racked his body. He was sweating all over, drooling with the pain etched all over his face. _What do I do?! _She looked at his wrists again, they looked painful as the sharp metal dug into his skin. She began to unbutton her top shirt, and when she had slipped out of it she began ripping it to her best ability.

"You're going to owe me an entire wardrobe when we get out of this Vergil." She said with an attempt at humor, but Vergil did not seem to even notice her there.

"They're coming again... Must hide... Must hide!" He said. His breathing had become quick and when she went to try and put the cloth around the shackles, to pad them so they wouldn't cut into him, he began thrashing wildly about. "GET AWAY! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! PLEASE! IT HURTS!"

"Calm down!" Amy tried to yell over his screams. Vergil just continued to thrash violently. "I won't let them hurt you!" Vergil shook his head, and suddenly his eyes opened. He seemed to notice someone, but his eyes never focused on her.

"I didn't mean to do it. I didn't know it would happen! Don't let them do it, please!" His eyes opened and closed as he pleaded with her. "It wasn't my fault, I can't control it." He was panting weakly.

"It's OK! You're safe Vergil." She said in what she hoped was a motherly tone as she used what was left of her shirt to wipe his face. He swallowed hard, but seemed to calm down. His eyes were rolling back and forth between her and the wall.

"I can't help it. It-it just happened. I didn't mean to kill him." Vergil began to sob, leaning forward against Amy's shoulder. Amy went rigid at his confession.

"W-who?" Amy asked as he shook against her, his arms twisted above and behind him as he tried to crawl into her lap. Vergil shook his head, and Amy was oddly reminded of her younger brother when he was afraid of getting in trouble for something he did. "Who Vergil?" She asked again in that motherly tone as she rubbed his back.

He sobbed, sounding less like the man and more like a child. "I have to hide!" He lunged forward and buried his face in her shoulder. "They're coming!"

"Who's coming?" Amy asked, trying to figure out what he was saying. She bent down, grabbing his shoulders to sit him up. She placed her hands on either side of his face, lifting it to look at her. "Look at me, come on. Stay with me." She said firmly as he began convulsing again.

"Kill me." He whispered. "I want to be with her." He sighed, leaning against her. "I can't take the pain. Kill me."

Amy looked down at his cowering figure as he tried to crawl further into her. She looked at Vergil dumbfounded, unsure what it was he was saying, or what she was supposed to do. She glanced up at his bound hands, straining to escape them in his effort to move closer to her. She gently pushed him backwards.

"No! Don't go!" He yelled at her.

"Quiet." She said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder as she moved against the wall, her head now between his wrists. "Sit back." She reached her arms forward and pulled him to sit against her, laying him back. At least now he was close enough to the wall to not strain against his shackles, and perhaps it would make the pain there less.

Vergil continued to whisper things, about pain, about death, about guilt. All the while Amy just sat dazed, not sure if talking to him would help anything. He didn't realize who she was after all. There was no recognition in his eyes at all when he looked at her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into the air. "I couldn't protect you."

Amy closed her eyes as she felt a sting at these words. As much as Vergil scared her, seeing him so frail was even more disconcerting. But she knew that even in his delirium, this was the Vergil worth saving. It reinforced her hope that he wasn't so far gone yet. The same way she had been when he'd called out her name in that desperate tone.

She began wiping his face again in an attempt to distract herself from the new wave of grief that seemed to be racking him. He started twisting against the bindings again, so Amy clamped her arms around him to prevent him from moving from her. From injuring himself.

"No, no no!" He panted. "MOM!" He screamed. His voice echoed off the wall. Amy pulled him back with all the strength she could muster, which wasn't much. Vergil though wasn't at his full strength either.

"Shhhh." Amy said in his ear as she tried to keep hold of him. He leaned against her, tears flowing freely now to mix with the sweat and the blood. "I'm here." A strange inclination came to her in that moment. She didn't know if it would work, but it couldn't hurt to try. She began to hum just next to his face a song the two of them had played together. The only time she had ever felt he enjoyed her company, when neither spoke in words but in the resonance of the song they played. It was one of the few times she'd ever felt like Vergil was, if possible, happy.

At first Vergil continued to struggle against her arms, but soon the wave passed and he lay limply against her. Slowly his body relaxed as she continued to hum. If he had been in his right mind he probably would've told her to knock it off. She could still remember his reaction to her humming back then. In his current state of mind though the humming seemed to be pushing back his nightmares.

After a long while Amy realized that Vergil was breathing deeply, quiet, with his head turned to the side. He had fallen asleep. Amy felt somewhere between crying, and relief as time went on without an issue. Yet, she continued to hum gently by his face, for fear his nightmares would grip him again. Her lower half having long since fallen asleep under his crushing weight, but somehow she never seemed to notice it till now.

It felt off to feel so...peaceful, but she was. With Vergil asleep she found him less like the demon, and more like the man. Despite what was around the corner for them both, waiting beyond this room, all she could concentrate on was right now. Holding onto him protectively with the remains of the sunlight stealing the little color he had left in his face. The sun warmed his cold skin, and even if she were to die, at least she'd have these few hours to hold him before his waking brought back the cold.

Amy laid her head forward on Vergil's shoulder, her cheek laying across the side of his neck, and closed her eyes.

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She had heard the term absolute darkness before, but had never known its meaning until now. If there was a moon in the sky it must've been overcast by dense clouds, because not one single ray peaked through the bars of the cell to comfort her. All she had was the solid weight of Vergil to remind her she was not alone. It was also growing colder, sitting on the stone floor that sucked the very warmth from her skin.

Amy might've fallen asleep at one point, but if she had it wasn't deep enough to realize it. A part of her couldn't sleep, too concerned over what might happen if she did. So she concentrated on the sound of Vergil's heavy breathing, and the feeling of the pulse in his neck just next to her cheek.

She felt Vergil twitch a muscle from time to time, but for the most part he seemed to be exhausted. Too much so to even realize he was using her as a recliner. Somewhere in the confines of her subconscious she could feel the ache of holding him this long, but the part of her that was awake didn't notice it at all. She was wondering if Dante was OK, if he would even find them, and how the three of them would make it out of this.

Her eyes had adjusted so well to the dark that she could almost make out the door across from them. Her ears were straining for every sound. So far all she had heard was the soft whisper of wind outside. She found it odd though that there was no sound of life anywhere. No crickets at all, or the occasional buzz of a mosquito passing through the window above could be heard. It was almost as if anything alive avoided the place she now was. A shiver ran through her at these thoughts.

Then a sliver of light seemed to bloom very slowly in front of her. She could hear footsteps and realized the light shone from the cracks in the door. The light got brighter as the footsteps grew nearer and Amy knew this was it. She quietly pulled herself from under Vergil, laying him gently down on the floor as she heard the turn of a lock. She stood to her full height, glaring at the door and ready to do whatever was needed to protect herself and Vergil from this unknown enemy.

The lock turned fully, slowly the door opened, and with it came blinding light from the one opening it. Amy's eyes struggled to focus on the figure, but she fought the urge to place a hand over her eyes. From her viewpoint the figure was a dark cut out against the open doorway and she couldn't make out the details of them. They stepped forward and Amy stood her ground.

"Who are you?" She demanded, willing her eyes to adjust to the light already. "What do you want?"

The figure said nothing, but continued his march towards her. She had a fleeting thought that he was going to attack by the way he bee lined for her. She put her hands out as he came to stand toe to toe with her. He didn't harm her though, but pulled her into a tight hug.

"I've missed you Amy." The soft voice said. Amy stood dumbfounded for a split second before pushing forward with all the strength left in her.

He did not struggle to keep her and backed away at her push. The first thing she noticed about the young man was a very large scar running from the left corner of his forehead, over the edge of his dark eyebrow, the bridge of his nose and partially over his right cheek. Despite this, he had a handsome look about his face, boyish blue eyes and a thick shag of black hair. He smiled warmly down at her as she just gaped at him with untrusting eyes.

"W-who are you?" She asked again when he only looked at her fondly. "Do I know you?" She noticed that his face fell a bit at this question, but understanding seemed to be there as well.

"It has been a long time." He laughed nervously. She noticed he carried a lamp with him and as he made to set it down she backed away from him, thinking he were moving forward to hug her again. "I won't hurt you Amy. I couldn't." He said softly in a tone that made her believe the very idea was unfathomable to him. She didn't know why, but she was wanting to trust him.

"Please. My friend is ill, and we need to get out of here. Please help us."

"Don't worry. Your part is almost over, and then you'll be free of them both." He placed a hand on her shoulder and she just stared up at him.

"Them?"

"Him" He pointed at Vergil. "And his other." He looked as if this were a happy thing.

"But, I don't want…"

"Listen." He said, cutting her off. "We don't have much time to talk now. If he knows I've been to see you before… Well, he won't like it. I just had to see you, to make sure it was really you." He paused to look at her for a moment, then said. "I'll come back, I promise."

"Wait!" Amy called as he turned to go back out the door. "WHO are you?"

He turned to look at her over his shoulder. A warm smile greeted her as he looked at her from across the room. "Nathan." He said softly. "Your brother."

Amy stared at him in disbelief, not knowing whether this was some sick joke…or the truth. She searched his face more closely. The scar seemed to make his face darker, but she wondered now how she could've missed the likeness. She warily lifted a hand to his forehead, pushing back the black shag to reveal a small scar she had thought she'd never see again. It was old, worn, and grown into. He had had it for a very long time.

"I was always such a klutz." He said with a smirk. Amy felt her stomach jolt at these words, but couldn't allow herself to believe it. _My brother died, I saw it!_

She pulled her hand towards her and began to back away, shaking her head. As she did so he moved forward to take her hands in his, nodding with a sad smile on his face.

"You can trust me Amy, I'm not a trick." His eyes were tearing at her rejection and she couldn't bare to look at him. She had seen this look before, in the eyes of the brother she thought she'd lost. The boy she'd made her childhood duty to look out for. Standing so tall and strong before her, and yet he looked just as frail and sickly as she remembered him to be.

"How is this possible?" She didn't give him the opportunity to answer though as she reached out and embraced him fully for the first time since he had entered the room. She felt elation beyond anything she had ever known. _My family… My blood… _But as she squeezed him tighter she heard a gasp of pain by her ear and pulled from him.

"I-it's OK." He said with a painful laugh. "I'm fine."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, really." He was touching his back gingerly and Amy moved sideways to look behind him. "Really I'm fine." He continued, trying to turn from her.

"You could never hide anything from me." She said as she moved behind him. She placed a hand gently on his back and almost jerked away at what she felt. Even through his shirt she could feel long protrusions peaking beneath. She lifted the shirt before he could protest and her eyes met both old and new welts crisscrossing in every direction. His skin didn't resemble anything close to skin, but more like a gruesome cross stitch of skin. "Who did this to you?" He just pulled his shirt from her hand, down over his back with a look of shame in his eyes.

"Really, it's OK." He replied. Amy was trying to fathom how it could be "fine" to have someone use another for target practice.

"This other person you keep talking about." She said quietly. "Did he do this?" She continued when he didn't respond. "How long have you been with him? Who is he? Don't turn me away Nathan." She said finally as he held his silence.

"Look, all this now, it will mean nothing to either of us once this is finished." He turned to her, facing her and she remembered the scar across his face. It didn't look old at all. This was a new addition to his collection of pain. His eyes shied away from her inspection of him. "He's promised to let us go. We'll be free when this is over, just be patient."

"How long have you been reassuring yourself with that?" She asked gently. His eyes jumped to her and she could see slight color rising in his cheeks. She wrapped her arms about his neck, ever so careful to avoid his back. "I'm so sorry Nathan. If I had known…"

"You couldn't have done anything." He cut in, pulling her tightly to him. "All of that means nothing when compared to now. You're _here._" He sighed into her shoulder. Amy had closed her eyes, thinking she might wake to find it was Vergil she was holding when she opened them. At this thought though she opened her eyes and saw Vergil laying on the cold floor behind Nathan. The light from the lamp made him look worse than she remembered seeing him. She pulled away from her brother to look at him.

"What is going to happen to them?" She watched as he looked at her confused a moment. Apparently forgetting that they were not alone. He studied her face, looking unsure how to answer it. "Please, don't hurt them."

"But you tried to kill him before." He said with a nod towards Vergil. "I thought you'd be happy."

"I was wrong! I was just scared, and desperate to get away."

She felt shame rising into her face at his words. She _had_ planned to kill Vergil. But planning it, and actually going through with it were worlds apart. She had stabbed him with Dante's sword, but she had been relying heavily on him being stronger than most men, for it to only injure. Dante had explained some of what he called "perks" of being half and half. She knew when she'd grabbed the pen knife that it wouldn't be able to kill him, but if it could buy her some time to get away...

"You can't let this happen Nathan." She said sternly.

"He tried to kill you Amy. How could you let him get away with that?"

"Whatever this plan is, whoever this MAN is you're protecting, neither can be good. I wouldn't let you hurt them any more than any stranger on the street." She said desperately. "Don't you see this is wrong?"

"Wrong?" He said, his voice suddenly raising. "What they've done to you, to US, that's what's wrong! If it weren't for them you and I would've never been separated to begin with! We wouldn't have been kept apart, and I sure as hell wouldn't have had to live like I have." He stopped at this, trying to compose his emotions. He grabbed a hold of her and hugged her close, not wanting her to see his tears. "I love you Amy. I will do anything, _anything, _to make sure we're never apart again." His voice began to tremble as he spoke. "Don't choose them over me."

Amy watched Vergil sleeping quietly over her brothers shoulder. Would saving Dante and Vergil cause him so much grief? Even still, she couldn't justify anything with their deaths. She had welcomed her own death in protecting Dante from Vergil, embraced it lovingly in her attempts to comfort Vergil, and if she had to she would entice it again to save Nathan from it.

"We'll leave together. All of us." She said quietly. "You, Vergil and I. As soon as he's well enough to walk we can just leave. Vergil will go…wherever it is he normally does." She smirked a bit and stared up at her younger brother. "And you and I will go into hiding and you'll never have to see this man again."

"You make it sound so simple. If only he were just a man." Nathan said sadly. Amy felt him suddenly go rigid in her arms. His eyes flicked up towards the door behind her.

"What is it?" She asked. He put a hand up, then kissed her on her forehead.

"You'll see me again." He said quickly, making for the door and skirting through it. Amy listened as the lock turned and then there was silence. It stretched for a moment and Amy realized she was shaking. Something was wrong.

"What were you doing?" A cold voice asked in the corridor.

"I was checking on them. They got so quiet, I was just making sure…" She heard Nathan's voice respond. If he felt the fear she did, he hid it well, but the other voice interrupted him.

"Turn around." The voice asked.

"What?" This time Nathan's voice trembled.

"Turn around."

Amy moved towards the door. Almost as quickly as she did the cold voice came again.

"Open it." It commanded. Amy suddenly felt the door shudder and a small slot opened. Light flooded back in. She backed away and didn't even need to stand close to see her brothers blue eyes looking back at her. His eyes looked ashamed and fearful. Almost pleading for her to look away. He was facing the doorway and there was a hooded figure behind him. There was no face in that hood, nothing but a black void, yet she was sure it was staring at her through the opening.

It lifted a hand and Amy was horrified to see the instrument of her brother's torture. A whip of some kind with several long leather straps similar to a cat-o-nine, but with twisted pieces of wire coming out of the ends. The creature carried it proudly at his side, holstered to his waist.

"_We'll leave together. All of us._" It said in Amy's exact voice, then it laughed as it pulled back and delivered the first blow to Nathan.

"STOP!" Amy screamed as she flew at the door. "You bastard, leave him alone!"

Nathan flinched with the pain, his eyes watering with the effort of keeping his screams inside. It was painfully obvious he was use to this. Amy pounded on the door, kicking and scratching at it. The sound of the whip was driving her mad, and the look on Nathan's face was unbearable. Soon her desperate cries were joined by those of Vergil who seemed to see a new nightmare with Amy's agonized screams.

"Leave her alone!" He screamed. "I'll kill you!" He roared as he pulled against his bindings, in a fit of rage he seemed to have no control over.

Amy's hand was throbbing from pounding on the door. She reached a hand through the slot to try and comfort Nathan, but all it afforded her was a lash across the knuckle as her hand met his shoulder. She screamed with the pain, but did not let go of him.

"Stop Amy." Nathan said weakly.

"No." She said with a gasp as another lash fell on her finger. "You taking this alone ends today." She leaned her head forward and he followed suit. Their eyes watching one another through the opening as Vergil's maddening screams only proved to provoke the figure who's laughter joined in to make a gruesome crescendo.


	12. Between Brothers

**Hello! I'm still not sure how I feel about this chapter, so I might do some editing down the road. We'll see how it goes, hopefully you'll enjoy it!**

**There is a reference in this chapter regarding a little girl lost in a forest. If you get a chance read my Oneshot called "No More Tequila" to understand Dante's displeasure at the thought...lol**

**Also, the Vergil part in this chapter is from his POV during the second half of the last chapter. It will bounce from memory to memory in no particular order. You can always try to piece it together if you want. I'll be retouching upon some of this stuff in later chapters though, so some things are being left out of here. That section is meant to be confusing, because I was trying to play with your head, to get into Vergil's erratic state of mind. So if you feel utterly confused then I've succeeded:D**

**Other than that, enjoy!**

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**Bleed For Me**

**Chapter 12 - Between Brothers**

Dante checked his direction again on the map as he passed a large stream. Darkness had settled in, and if he'd been anyone other than himself, he would've had trouble seeing. Dante though had honed his ability to see in the dark. It was something required of his business, considering the majority of his opponents preferred the darkest of places. It had always come in handy, and tonight would be no different.

He moved a ways beyond the stream and noticed the further in he went the quieter it would get. He had ventured through enough wooded places to know what sounds rang out in the night, yet they were dimming the longer he walked. Perhaps he should've felt relieved by this, considering Joseph's words to him earlier.

_I couldn't get into the place when I went to check it out. Other creatures are lured by the dark aura it gives off..._

_Yeah... _Dante thought. _And living things keep away from it. _So he was getting closer. Though, the reason he wasn't relieved was due to not only sensing Vergil nearby. Something else, much larger in aura was close as well. His first feeling of it was met by a sudden uncharacteristic shiver running up the back of his spine. It had only ever happened once in his entire life, and that was when he had seen what had become of his mother. Dante flinched as the thought entered his mind and tried to push it away from his inner vision.

Whatever this thing was it felt like something vile, dirty, and covered in the blood of others. He was vaguely reminded of the same feeling he'd had after he'd come to his senses in Amy's room. It was the source of the necklaces power, the origin of the evil encased within that stone.

"I won't turn back." He said aloud, although his insides were telling him to do so. Not for what this thing might do to him, oh no that would never be an issue. It was more like watching a gory movie and knowing you're about to see something that could turn your stomach. There is that momentary feeling where you want to cover your eyes so you don't have to see it. There was an old evil around here somewhere that could infest his very mind with the kind of feelings and images he might never be able to wash himself of. Then again, the idea of Amy and even Vergil with this thing pushed him along. He always got the job done.

He entered a clearing and could see a dark shape above the trees a ways away from here. The makings of a gravel road came into view, having long since covered itself in weeds to make it disappear beyond this point. The rest of the road, the part leading towards the building, looked in good condition. One might never know the place even existed unless they'd foolishly gotten lost here. Dante was oddly reminded of another job that had taken him into the heart of a wooded area, and of the lost girl he'd found there. He glared for a moment before putting a hand on each gun protectively, and then pressed forward to the road.

As he made his way down it he heard a sudden crunching noise from behind him. What bothered him was that the overwhelming feeling he was getting from this thing was clouding his ability to pick up on other lesser enemies. It was bothering him because he just realized that he was being followed. He continued to walk nonchalantly, as if he hadn't realized something was bounding from tree to tree behind him. _Two of them, and they're fast._

He rolled forward onto the ground as both lunged from a tree on either side of him and criss crossed over his figure. Dante turned to see two large black shadows. In motion they were nothing more than black blurs against an equally dark scene. Once they stopped and turned towards him he could see their bright eyes, _cat's eyes,_ glaring at him.

They were crouched down on all fours and turning in that feline way to circle around him. They flicked their tales as they watched him, each one of them hissing out a voice.

"Can we eat him?" One asked, gazing at him with such longing.

"No, we'll have to settle for just hurting him." Said the other.

"That hardly seems fair!"

"Our master only said he had to be alive. Never said he had to have all his limbs, did he?"

"Heh, good point."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you two, but I'm kind of _attached _to my limbs." Dante said, pulling his sword from his back with a grin. "But I could use some cat hyde boots if you're offering."

They both hissed viciously at him. One of them suddenly shifted its body into what looked like a boomerang, but the ends were sharp as knives as it came at him with such speed. Dante barely had time to duck before the thing came close to cutting his ear off.

"Not the face!" Dante said harshly, making sure it was in tact. The other cat jumped at him, its claws ripping through the air to meet Dante's blade. The other came from behind this time and dug one paw into his side. Dante groaned. He pushed the one in front off and smacked the others face with the hilt of his sword. It cried out, but its brother didn't give Dante time to think his next move. It elongated itself into a gaping, sharp tooth mouth and tried to swallow him whole.

He managed to move out of the way, but these things were so damned fast he found it difficult to inflict any damage on them. Wave after wave of the two came at him, and by the time he'd knocked down one the other would be at him again.

Dante pulled out his guns and began to fire at them as he backed away. _Distance is good. _One of them was bounding from tree to tree after him, but the other had disappeared. Suddenly a dark spike shot up from the ground where he just was. One after another the spikes chased him to try and impale. Dante leapt high, but still it followed, unphased by his barrage of bullets.

The spikes disappeared, but the other cat had managed to catch up with him. It was practically biting at his heels as Dante turned to run. He needed to think quick, but the other appeared, whipping over his head as he ducked down and slid to avoid it. _This is insane!_ But as he moved to run again he had noticed a wail from behind him. He dared a look and noticed that the one cat had almost collided with the other when he'd slid. _Almost..._

Dante turned on his heel and jumped over the cat that was chasing him.

"Come get me!" He said, shaking his butt in a taunting way. "Fresh, grade A choice" He added with a slap on his bottom. The cat yowled with anger and began the chase again. As Dante had hoped the other cat was rebounding back towards them. This time however, Dante allowed the cat chasing him to get close enough to want to pounce. Dante's heart was beating fast with anticipation as the cat flying at him from above came nearer to him.

Almost in slow motion Dante skirted to the left at the last moment. The speed at which both cats were going prevented them from stopping in time. The one cat had leapt up to sink its teeth into Dante's "grade A choice" as the other shot down to cleave his head off. Instead the boomerang figure embedded itself into the other cats gaping mouth, while the other cat clamped its teeth down in reaction to the pain of the intruder. Both stopped in mid air and fell the ground, writhing in pain and agony. The one cat died almost instantly, while the one stuck in its mouth tried to twist free.

Dante stepped forward to stare down at it. It hissed at him, but it had no where else left to go. Dante pulled his sword back and swiftly chopped its head off. It lay still and quiet.

"Pussy." Dante said with a smirk. He cut off the head of the other just in case and turned again to the open road. As he drew nearer he noticed a rooftop peaking over the trees ahead of him. The growth around him began to thin out and soon he saw the source of the roof. He was on a stone path, a driveway of sorts, to a large house. It was a good 3 floors tall, with chipped white paint, large columns, and a mass of ivy and other overgrowth making it look ancient. It might've been a beautiful home at one point, but the feeling of "home sweet home" did not apply to the relic now. Even Dante could see there was something wrong with the place.

He had once heard a horror story as a child about a house. It tricked people into coming inside of it and trapped them there to make repairs on it forever. Vergil had always taken joy in telling Dante horror stories for the fun of seeing Dante freaked out. It had only been a story, but Dante felt this house could've been the one the story was about, because it looked alive. Like the house from the story, this one too was waiting for him. For what purpose though Dante did not yet know. He felt a shiver but suppressed it as he approached the porch. Rotting wood was strewn all about, and the wood groaned under his footsteps as he approached the front door.

----------

Vergil was in darkness.

Madness can be a gift as well as a burden. The visions he saw were not real. At least in this place and time. And yet he could hear the real world around him, but he couldn't do anything about it. The pain, oh the pain was excruciating. Mentally his body told him he was on fire, and yet his skin felt cool as a stone on a wintry night.

After a long while he couldn't tell the difference between them. Reality and memory began to mash together, blurring the lines.

"Can you fix it Vergil?" Dante asked, tears streaming down his face.

Vergil was staring down at a wooden sword that had snapped while they played. The more he looked at it though, the more wonder it was it had not broken before now. Vergil looked at his younger brother and grinned.

"I think so. We'll see if mom has any duct tape." He replied, ruffling Dante's hair.

"No, it'll still _look _broken!" Dante protested, knocking Vergil's hand away. Vergil knew Dante hated it when he did that, but he did it anyway.

"Well then, we'll both wrap the blade parts of our swords in silver duct tape. That way they'll look all shiny, and maybe they won't come apart so easily?" He said thoughtfully. Dante's frown grew into a smile.

"Yeah! We'll be like real swordsmen!" He said excitedly at this new idea. "You're so smart." He said happily to Vergil.

"I know." Vergil added, ruffling Dante's hair again. Dante shoved him back and the two began to wrestle, considering Dante's sword was still broken. Dante was just about to pin Vergil for the win when they heard a loud scream.

Both boys sat up, the happy smiles vanishing like a snuffed out candle. Vergil noticed the smell first. _Fire. _He looked up towards the road leading to the cottage. Big, black billows of smoke flew into the air and a grim red light lit up the sky.

"Mom!" Dante blurted out, standing to rush forward. Vergil caught him by the shirt though.

"No!" Vergil said his heart racing. "You stay here Dante! I'll go!"

"NO! I'm coming with you!" Dante said, trying to push past his brother.

"I'm older, so I'll go check it out." Vergil replied.

"No you…" Dante started, but Vergil cut him off.

"There's no time to fight Dante. I promise I will come back for you. No matter what happens, OK?" Vergil's tone was desperate, and for a moment it seemed Dante might argue with him. Eventually his push on Vergil eased, and he went to the shelter of the nearby trees.

"Don't forget about me Vergil." Dante said, his eyes starting to water.

"I won't." He replied, giving Dante a confident smile before running off towards their house.

-

"Who are you?" A voice asked somewhere to his left. Vergil pulled out a switchblade from his pocket and turned to see a boy standing by him. Vergil was clutching an apple, the first real food he'd had in almost a week. The boy looked at him with fear in his eyes.

"Go away!" Vergil spat at him, pushing the knife out threateningly.

The boy looked at the knife, and then at Vergil, but did not move. Vergil glared at him, but jumped as another figure joined them.

"Where did you get off to?" He heard an adult voice chuckle. A tall man entered the doorway of the shack. When he saw Vergil, his eyes darted to the knife in his hand then to his son who stood frozen. His eyes darkened. "What's going on here?!"

Vergil, afraid of what might come, ran forward and cut the man's forearm before running off into the fields beyond. In his haste he had dropped the apple.

-

"MOM!" Vergil yelled as he ran towards the house. Flames had engulfed almost every inch of the small cottage, and there was no sign of his mother anywhere. He called her name again as he ran towards the door. It had been barred from the outside, and as he saw this he felt his breath quicken. _Someone wanted to make sure no one came out._

He pulled on the barrier and it came off almost too easily. He had to cover his eyes as he opened the door because the flames took to the fresh air like fire with gasoline. He called out to his mother again and still received no reply. As he took a step inside though he stepped on something soft. It was hard to keep his eyes open with all the smoke and heat around him, so he knelt down and groped around his feet. He felt a hand.

He was so relieved that all he could think to do was pull. Pull with all the strength he could possibly muster. But as he touched the skin something odd happened to him. He felt his entire body take a jolt and suddenly he saw and heard people. His mother among them.

_Tell us where they are! If you want to live you will tell us human!_

But his mother, face so brave and beautiful, refused to say anything.

_She could have them hidden somewhere in the house my Lord._

_Burn the place down. And you two, head down towards the fields in case she snuck them out._

Vergil heard his mother screaming at them. _No! Kill me, take me instead!_

_Don't worry Eva. We'll make sure your abominations are killed quickly. You however will pay for your sins!_

Vergil pulled almost frantically now as his whits were about him again. He didn't want to see anymore as it was seeping the hope out of him that she would be OK.

He pulled her out of the house and laid her on the smooth grass. He turned her over and shrank back in terror.

-

"Kill me... I want to be with her" Vergil said out to the cool night. "I can't take the pain. Kill me"

His arms hurt from the ropes binding his wrists around the tree. The rough bark was digging into his cheek and chest, and his back felt like it was on fire as insects inspected each gash. Vergil bit down hard as tears streaked from his face.

"I didn't mean to do it." He screamed into the night. No one was there to hear him anymore.

-

Vergil was sleeping on the cold mossy forest floor. He didn't want to wake up, but his stomach was going crazy, begging for something to eat. He would have to steal again if he were to survive. But what was the point of surviving? What was left worth living for?

"Excuse me?" A voice suddenly asked. Vergil's eyes flew open and he saw that one boy standing nearby him, and he was holding a large basket. Vergil pulled out his knife again, but the boy only put a hand up. "Dude, calm down. What do you think I'm going to do, bludgeon you to death with a whicker basket?"

Vergil looked at him oddly, thinking about this logically. The boy only smiled at the look on his face. Vergil noticed he seemed younger, but he had strength about his confidence that made him not so threatening.

"What do you want?" Vergil asked, eyeing him.

"You live by yourself right?" He asked walking closer to inspect Vergil's forest made bed of moss. Vergil glowered at him.

"What do you want?" Vergil asked again.

The boy rolled his eyes and set the basket down the ground. He pulled off the top of it to reveal apples, oranges, and pears. Vergil devoured the fruit with his eyes, but then he remembered the boy and looked at him cautiously.

"What's this?" He asked accusingly. "Are you trying to trick me?"

"My dad runs a grocery shop in town. When produce gets bruised he usually tosses it, but I told him I'd take some of it. He figures I'm off feeding animals with it." He lifted a red apple and tossed it to Vergil, before picking up a pear for himself. "They aren't fresh, but they're still pretty good." He took a big bite of the pear and continued to look around.

Vergil eyed the apple, sniffed at it, and then took a small bite to test it out. Nothing seemed wrong with it. He greedily ate at it until barely the core was left. He heard the boy chuckle at him, but when Vergil made to look at him he only stood smiling.

"I could bring you other stuff too. I just knew you liked fruit by the way you were eating it the other day."

"I don't have money to pay you with." Vergil blurted out, his mouth still partially full of apple. The boy snorted when Vergil almost drooled, but only shook his head.

"Don't want money. If you really want to pay me, you can put away the knife unless you mean to peel me another pear"

-

"He's dead!" Someone yelled from behind him. Vergil was pulled roughly back by the scruff of his shirt and tossed away to the ground. A man he recognized was crouched over the boy, sobbing as he lifted him from the ground. The boys neck hanging at odd angles as he did so.

"I didn't mean to." Vergil's voice broke into the man's agonized sobs. He turned towards Vergil with a sickening rage etching his face.

"I'll KILL YOU!" He shouted as Vergil stood to run away. But he ran into a group of onlookers who grabbed a hold of him and refused to let go.

"I didn't mean to do it. I didn't know it would happen! Don't let them do it, please!" Vergil begged as they began to tie him at the wrists. The man came forward, carrying the limp body of his son in his arms. He leaned forward and spit on Vergil.

-

"Dante!" Vergil yelled as he came running down the hill, running away from the fire, from his mother... He could not help her now, but if that vision had been correct then whoever had killed her had went out to make sure he and Dante hadn't gotten away. All Vergil could think of was his brother.

He ran to the area where he had left him, but there were no signs of him anywhere. Vergil began to panic as he called out his name over and over again. But Dante never responded.

Vergil slumped forward onto the ground, a child with no hope, no family, and nothing left to hold onto.

-

The memories were flooding in like a rough tide in a stormy wind, and he was being bashed against the rocks with each flow of them. The memories he thought he'd left behind, finding their way into the front of his memory. Each an angry spirit come to haunt and torture him for all eternity. Naked, cold in this dark place with only these memories.

From the darkness came a light, a sound so soft at first it could've been only the wind. A voice he never thought to hear again.

"It's OK Vergil. You're safe." The soft voice of his mother came to his ears. He wanted to be with her, God help him, he wanted to die and stay curled in her protective embrace for all eternity. She was driving the ghosts away.

He called out to her and she answered him "Shhhh, I'm here."

He felt her arms about him, the warmth of her hiding his nakedness in this place. He wanted to hold her, but his arms wouldn't allow him to do it. So he just let her hold him. Then, when he was sure the ghosts were returning he heard a different voice. It was a hum that he knew all too well. It wasn't his mother who held him, it was Amy.

His mind was taken from this dark place to a small room with a roaring fire. There she sat, trying to play the piano. She was waiting for him. To do what he did not know, but the ghosts had gone completely by this time. He felt his body sink into hers and let his mind go.

-

Vergil's darkness was shattered by her screaming. Last thing he knew she had been humming so softly by his ear, but now all he could hear was her screaming. It was like an unexpected blow in the midst of a pleasant dream.

He had never heard her scream this way before, and so it only proved to anger him in his delirium. He wanted to lash out, wanted to beat whatever it was that was hurting her to a bloody pulp. No matter how hard he pulled though, something was binding him.

Vergil did not know how long the laughter, screams, and agony went on for but as soon as it began it ended. Only Amy's sobs were left. He couldn't tell if he were still in a dream, or if it was a reality he couldn't wake from.

He felt a hand on his shoulder as he continued to try and break free of his bindings.

"Vergil." Her strained voice said. "C-calm down." He knew she was there, but he couldn't find her in the dark of his mind. She lived in some other reality he was only allowed to hear. Her arms came about him, but it seemed to him it was more for her than it was him. She was shaking against him, crying out some horror not yet known to him.

"It's OK Amy." He heard himself say in his delirium, every word vibrating in his chest. "I'll protect you."

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He was testing the floorboards of the house as he entered. Depending on how long this place had sat in ruin, there was no telling if the floor would even hold his weight. To his relief it appeared to be alright. He could sense Vergil, even with the other aura fogging his senses. He walked through to an open room and realized the house seemed locked in time.

There was furniture, decorations, and relics of some past family. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. The house had a lonely feel on the inside, like it was just up and abandoned for no real reason. The only thing that looked touched was photos around the room. Faces of people had been scratched out violently, some torn and burned in a grand fireplace. Mirrors too, Dante noticed, were broken all over the house. The further in he went, the more unsettling things seemed to be. But it wasn't old photos and furniture he came for, and his instincts were telling him to go downward. He found what appeared to be a basement door and entered it. He flipped on the light and looked down to the landing below.

Dante walked down the steps, feeling each one first before he let his full weight sink into them. The boards beneath his feet looked worn, the wood rotting in places, so he didn't trust the steps as he descended them. At the bottom of the stairs was a dark stain that had seeped into the wood. Dante crouched down to touch it, noting that it wasn't new with a feeling of relief. The red stain looked _very _old actually. He wondered how long this house had been there. Dante's head snapped up as a creaking noise was heard to his right. He reloaded his gun and turned to see a panel swing free from its hinges to reveal a concealed room.

Dante cautiously moved forward, weapon at the ready before him. He pushed the panel open quickly and pointed inside. It was a large empty room that seemed totally detached from the rest of the house. Everywhere else seemed to have been touched and lived in by humans, but this place was hollow and cold. It was devoid of feeling was the only way Dante could describe it properly.

He stepped in and the door suddenly closed itself behind him.

"Well, at least things are getting interesting." He said into the dimly lit room. He holstered his guns and swaggered forward, looking around. "Marco!" He called the sound echoing back to him. He grinned. "Dante has a nice ass!" He called out, and the voice returned the compliment. "Why thank you... Vergil is a grumpy eunuch!" Again it repeated and Dante let out a snort.

He walked further in and noticed there was something just legible under the sheet of dust on the floor. He knelt down to brush it away, but as soon as his finger touched the line it suddenly lit up. The light followed a circular pattern on the floor, and Dante stepped back as a symbol of some kind etched itself in light before him.

"Impressive!" Dante said, clapping his hands together.

"You really think so?" Asked a voice from behind him. Dante turned uncaringly to see a hooded figure standing nearby.

"No, I take it back. You look more the eunuch type than Vergil." He said dismissively, pacing back and forth. "So, is this your party?"

"It would be mine, yes. And you Dante are the guest of honor." He responded.

"Heh, I usually am." Dante grinned, pulling out ebony and stroking the top of the gun. "But where's the food, babes, the DJ? And don't forget the alcohol."

"It isn't that kind of party. Although, if you would like some companionship, that can be arranged." The voice of whatever was beneath the hood was suddenly cold. "Nathan!" It hissed. Dante looked around and saw another panel opening on the opposite side from where he entered. A boy, no older than 16 or 17 came walking in and it appeared he was dragging something behind him.

Dante glared at the boy as Vergil and Amy came out behind him. Amy was bound at the wrists and walking on her own two feet, but Vergil was being dragged beside her. She was trying so hard not to step on him. When she saw Dante her eyes lit up hopefully.

The cloaked figure walked over to the three of them. Dante watched as he grabbed a hold of Amy, unbound her wrists and then began to dance around and around with her. She looked absolutely horrified at the idea.

"What the hell do you want?" Dante demanded.

"You lose your smart tongue quickly enough." He stopped the dancing and pushed her towards the boy he called Nathan. Dante noticed Amy went to the young boy with no issue and was even more confused when they partially embraced. _What the hell? _"Now let's see... What do I want, what do I want?" He placed his hand up to his face to emote thoughtfulness. Then he reared his leg back and kicked Vergil's limp figure with such force that he actually rolled several feet. Dante stepped forward, but before he had stepped a foot the figure had him by the throat. He was lifting him into the air.

"First off, I'd like you two dead. After that, I won't need anything anymore!" He laughed manically.

"Your screws lose man." Dante groaned as the hooded figure dug its fingers deeper into his throat.

"Moi? HA! No, for the first time in my miserable existence I'm finally thinking clearly."

"Leave him alone!" Amy's voice suddenly came out of nowhere. She was trying to fight her way to them, but the teen was holding her back.

"Oh, shut up before I cut your tongue out. Don't think I'll require that part." He said thoughtfully. He dropped Dante to the floor and walked towards the lit symbol in the floor. "Soon, very soon."

"Why are you doing this?" Amy yelled at him.

"She wants to know WHY!" He said excitedly. "Didn't your brother reveal anything to you while you caught up? He always a faithful dog. You will be rewarded for your discretion my boy." Nathan only glared at him. "Well, we've got some time to kill; I guess I could regale you with a story. You always did love your stories, didn't you Amy? The way your mother use to tell them to you before you went to sleep. Even then I was jealous of how much she loved you..."

"Don't talk about my mother!" She spat with Nathan trying to prevent her from jumping at him.

"I'll talk about my wife anyway I choose to!" A coldness swept through the room as his icy voice sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"W-what?" Amy gasped quietly. She looked to Nathan and his eyes fell. "No, that's impossible!" She yelled.

The man finally lowered the hood. Auburn hair fell out and cold as ice blue eyes glared around at them. Amy was shaking her head. Dante was sure he had seen that face somewhere before. _The picture of Amy's parents..._

"Daddy?" The voice that uttered these words was so innocent they took Dante off guard for a moment. Then he realized they came from Amy as she slid to the floor beside her brother. Her eyes were blank as she stared at the man before her.

"Yes Princess... Daddy's home."

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**Update 09/04/2007:**

**I have some bad news guys. My laptop broke (only 4 months into owning the damn thing too!) and it'll be with the manufacturer for the next 3 weeks getting fixed. I had no back ups of Chapter 13 at home, so that is currently being backed up by Geek Squad and I won't have access to it until my laptop comes back in. sigh Go figure, I was just beginning a DMC oneshot too...:P Bah...**

**So until further notice I won't even be able to work on the fic at ALL. I will update as soon as I get the laptop back and can begin finishing Chapter 13. Until then!**

**Shy**


	13. Revelations, Betrayal and Redemption

**I'm back! Sorry, it took them 4 weeks instead of 3 to get me my laptop back. Luckily I did some writing during lunch breaks at work on my yahoo mail notepad. The result is this, most of chapter 14, and two oneshots I've begun writing...lol One is a Dante/Vergil oneshot that I'm having fun writing, and the other is a Lady/Dante/Vergil story...lol Actually, I think they might be short stories the way they're going. Too many ideas in my noggin to make them only oneshots.**

**Anywho, I'm seriously going to need your help with this chapter. Once the story completes I plan to rewrite and redo it a bit to fill in plot holes and fix errors. This chapter is the vital one because everything comes together. So I want your feedback on any plot holes you might see in this chapter so I can fix them later on. This is the first story I've ever fully completed, so I want to make sure I get it all right**

**Also, I'm iffy about the battle. As mentioned before they are not my strong points in writing, so please let me know if I should add in more. My fear is building you up this far to have it be anti-climactic...lol There IS another chapter after this, so don't think this ends it.**

**As always, read and review if you like it or would like to add some constructive criticism. **

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**Bleed For Me**

**Chapter 13 **

Dante stared at the man in the cloak, then at Amy as Nathan crouched down to comfort her. She stared at the man she'd called "daddy" with gaping eyes, as if the were trying to grasp the concept of it all.

"Stop messing with her head and let's get this over with!" Dante growled.

"She did ask why, didn't she?" He replied, his mouth twisting into a wicked smile. "And even you Dante, not the bit curious? After all, it was I who brought you here. I've been planning this day since… your mother died."

Dante's mouth twisted into a sneer as he ran at him. He drew his sword and side sliced at him, but he caught Dante's sword with one hand. Dante stared at him, and then looked down at the hand holding his blade in place.

"Oh I'm sorry, she didn't die. She was _murdered_!" He began laughing. Blood was seeping down from his hand as Dante pushed harder into it. "Give it up boy; even in my current body I'm still stronger!" He pushed back with his hand and sent Dante flying across the room.

"What the fuck?" Dante groaned, looking at him.

"Now, if you can't behave yourself while the grown ups are talking I'll put you in the time out chair." He smiled in a fatherly tone that made him all the more twisted. He turned to Amy.

"Where shall I start? How did those stories all begin?" He looked thoughtful, and then put his finger up. "I remember! Once upon a time right?" His eyes narrowed as Amy turned to look from him.

"Once upon a time…" He began in a low growl of a voice, the definition of bitterness in every word. "…I was a powerful being. I was among a rare few who walked this earth, omnipotent among humans and feared by demons. I never wanted, or needed anything. That was until I met _her…_" He put a hand down to his side, and pulled from a pocket the same necklace Amy had always worn. He touched the stone and it lit with a brilliant light.

"Most human's look upon demons in a poetic way. We devil's sometime see the same in humans. Our worlds are so different, and we always look to that which we cannot have. She was that for me. But nothing is unattainable when you are devil born, it just depends how you choose to take what you want. I made this stone for just that purpose, and when I had her I felt again that I would never need of anything… Or so I thought."

"You?" Dante interrupted. "You're the one Joseph was telling me about?"

He stared at Dante with a wry smile on his face. "Not too bright are you? We'll get there my boy, but you're jumping ahead of the story." He cleared his throat. "I had my wife, and for a while everything was fine. I began to notice though that my health was fading, and I was growing old. I had given up most of my powers to live with her, and as time drew out I realized just how much I had given up. I wasn't ready to die a mortal death. When I had lost all hope of remaining I received the answer to my… Well... I won't say _prayer_, but you get the idea."

"My Master called to me. He told me he could restore that which I had given up. All he wanted in return was my vow of servitude. You'd have thought I would've given in right away, but I actually held off on the idea. My wife knew nothing of what I was, the stone having made her blind to such things. It wasn't until she was with child the temptation was too great to bare. Your father must've seen too what carrying you did to your mother." He addressed Dante directly. "I was still a love sick fool, afraid of losing my son and wife. So I agreed, and he gave me the power to ease her through. She lived, and my son Nathan was born."

"W-wait!" Amy's voice broke through his. "I'm his older sister! He couldn't have been born before I was!"

"Yes Amy, you were born before Nathan was, but not by my seed or my wife's womb."

Even Nathan protested at this, but he waved them away dismissively. "My Master came to me distraught, angered by the incompetence of some of his followers. They had failed to carry out his orders. He did not go into detail then, as I'm sure he was still testing my faithfulness. He asked me to find a girl child and bring her into my home. I did it, no questions asked. I told my wife I had found her on the side of the road abandoned. I think I could've told her I'd flown to the moon and plucked her from a star for all she was concerned. She was instantaneously smitten with the little girl… And all my woes began on the day I gave her the necklace."

Dante was edging his way towards his sword, not really wanting to hear any more. He saw the look on Amy's face as she sit on her knees and didn't like it one bit. He wanted to shut him up, lop that head right off his shoulders so he couldn't speak another filthy word. Dante let his arm inch towards Rebellion. Suddenly the sword slid away from his hand and stopped at the devil's feet. He bent over and lifted it from the ground.

"If you insist on interrupting me, then I'll have to bind you." As he said this Dante felt his limbs lock. It was painful, his muscles locking against his will. Dante noticed though that once it had happened the devil had a worn look on his face, as if the effort were sapping his energy. He silently swore and dropped Dante's sword on the ground.

"We kept the girl, who was too young to remember her real parents. My wife spent her time attending to the kids while I dreamt of the day my Master had promised. He would extend my life, long enough to carry out his wishes and when that was completed I would have my powers back in full."

He turned towards Nathan. "My son… I wanted a warrior, someone to take over the heritage of our kind. What I got was a sickly child who would rather spend his days listening to a human play piano than learning to be what he was." His eyes narrowed. "I pushed and pushed and you only pushed back. You were becoming attached to her, and I never wanted that for you. But what could I do? I couldn't reveal your origins to your mother or Amy. What could I say when asked why I didn't want you spending so much time with her? I had to _make _you see."

Amy could've sworn there was a hint of self justification in his voice as he spoke to Nathan. Like he had told himself over and over that his way of making Nathan see was the right way. But if it had started that way Amy knew from what she had seen out in the corridor that it had moved beyond anything it started out as. The man he described now, the father he had been to them then, was not this thing standing before them. She didn't know who this foul thing was. Nathan just sat next to her. Maybe he too had justified it as him not being good enough. That he deserved what he got because of his inadequacies.

"I waited, becoming weaker and weaker with time. The power allowed to me was beginning to fade and my Master stopped coming to me. I considered tossing the girl out so many times, but my wife had grown so attached to her. As days ticked away I was getting desperate. I began to build a hidden area." He put his hands up, gesturing the room they were standing in. "I was dabbling with hell hates, their mechanics. I knew my Master was not of this world, and if I was to reach him I stood a chance the more I learned about opening it. But I worried for nothing. Finally he came to me and told me it was time to prove my loyalty. He must've known even then that I would lose everything in my attempt to regain my former glory. Perhaps he had stayed quiet for so long to give me time to re-evaluate what I faced if I didn't follow him unconditionally. The fire in my heart had all but stopped with the bitterness of living my life as a mere mortal. We were not meant to live in the human world, we were meant to rule OVER it. Love can easily be replaced by hate. As dear Vergil has demonstrated for us so many times."

Perhaps he was trying to make a point, or maybe he had noticed the slight movement Vergil made. He watched him carefully, standing still as Vergil groaned. He actually looked nervous at the sight of Vergil moving. But Vergil quieted again and the devil's body relaxed.

"I'm sure you recall our last meeting Amy? You must've, considering your confusion to see either of us standing here with you. The last you saw we were all dead. At least, that is what I wanted you to see."

"You were required elsewhere. You had come to an age where the necklace could take hold, and there was nothing more keeping you in that house. I took you into the basement, telling you to remain hidden until I came for you. I sent Nathan down shortly after and made sure to shoot him where you would see. The scream you heard upstairs was your mother as she tried to stop me from doing it. She couldn't have understood the thing I was doing for us. She didn't know then that Nathan would wake after a few hours just fine. No, all she could see was my betrayal. But I was bound to go on, no matter the cost."

"True to form you obeyed and waited. I took them away and left you in the hands of an accomplice who followed you from the house. He made sure you found your way to the orphanage. Placing you next to one of my Master's intended targets."

"Vergil?" Amy said breathlessly. She laid a hand on his back as it rose and fell from the floor.

"He had known, my Master, that you would befriend him. He knew it somehow the day he told me to take you into my home. It's in Vergil's blood to care for weaker things, no matter how much he tries to deny it. He gets that from his father's love of all life. Even after the horrors he has suffered, he could not break the bonds we put in place with help from the necklace."

"This is bullshit!" Dante yelled, struggling against his limbs. "If you'd wanted us dead, then why didn't you do it then?"

"One main reason. You see, when your dear daddy left you behind he used what little strength he had to protect you and Vergil. Did you ever find yourself in a desperate situation and somehow manage to survive it at a young age? We were not aware of this until much later when several random attempts on your lives failed with impossible odds. You guys were protected by his power until you turned 18. Old enough to wield his blades with the same furious power as him. Old enough to come into your powers. Your mother however, she must've known he only had the power left to protect you two. Ever wondered why she moved into seclusion? Why you were never allowed to stray far from home? It was the only protection she could give herself to ensure you didn't grow up alone. A lot of good that did her..."

Dante pulled wildly at the invisible force holding him, grinding his teeth so hard it was ringing in his ears.

"There was nothing that we could do except try and plant someone close to you, making you easier to keep an eye on until you came of age. If things had gone right that is. But life has a way of not going according to plan. Vergil was somehow able to fight off the power of the necklace. He broke himself free of Amy."

Amy turned to look at Dante, who was eyeing her. "I swear, I didn't know!"

"It's true." He said with a sigh. "We had relied too heavily on her ability to keep him around it seems. So, changes had to be made… Things between my wife and I had not gone well since I'd shot our son. Even after I showed her he was fine, well, I'm sure you can guess the rest. Ultimately she wanted to leave and take Nathan with her. I told her she could leave, but Nathan would not. I had tired of her by this time. Not even the bind I had put on her could erase all she had seen. But I would not let her just up and go. I took her youth to prolong my own as payment for her freedom. Although I did find uses for her eventually."

"What did you do with her you bastard?" Amy suddenly yelled, finding her voice after sitting quiet for so long. Dante noticed that Nathan looked awestruck at his father, apparently never hearing this part of the story.

"I did what any father would do." He paused for a moment then said quietly. "I gave her back to you." Amy closed her mouth at this, looking at him untrustingly. "I warned her never to reveal what had transpired, and if she did I would allow you to return to her. You of course wouldn't know her by her graying hair and wrinkled face, but as the angel who rescued you from the orphanage." His face remained blank even as Amy's face lit up in recognition.

"Maybe I had a soft spot for her, or maybe I saw the potential in having you guarded by someone I was familiar with. I didn't have the time to do it as I followed after Vergil, and later Dante. She took care of you in my stead until I might require you again. And I eventually did. But she had reconnected her bond with you and begged me not to drag you into it. When I refused she threatened to reveal everything to you. I had let her go once, but I could not do it again. She died peacefully if it's any comfort to you."

Amy was shaking all over as she slowly stood. Nathan and Dante watched her nervously, but her eyes were darkened by her hair. "You killed her?" Amy's voice hissed. Her head snapped up and they could see the fury in her eyes, green fire blazing. Nathan had to act quickly when she went to run at the devil. She thrashed about, screaming at Nathan to let her go. "Why are you protecting him?!"

"He doesn't protect me." The devil replied. "If anything he protects you and rightly so. If you are in a rush then allow me to finish the story. This is where things get good."

"I've heard enough of your story." Dante barked at him. His trigger finger was feeling itchy, and he was more than ready to begin. But the old devil put up finger and shook it mockingly.

"I lost so much Dante. My wife and even my son. My sanity, sure, why not! But I told you before… we all sacrifice..." He suddenly grabbed a hold of his face as if something were suddenly hurting him there. He yelled madly as he stumbled around. Dante tried his bonds again, but they weren't weak enough yet. The devil stopped writhing around and stood with his hands covering his face. He stood silent for a long while and Dante noticed he'd shrunk in size and was a lot fuller around the middle.

"BOO!" He suddenly yelled as he uncovered his face. Dante glared into the face of Joseph and his blood began to boil. Joseph only bent over double and began to laugh. "You see now? Starting to make a little more sense boy?"

"What the hell is this?" Dante asked.

"Don't mind me; I'm just a poor lonely half breed." He crooned sarcastically. "I said you weren't the brightest. Hell, I've had a hand in most of the things you've done the last few months. Who do you think left you the document at Vergil's hideout with Amy's address on it? I needed you two to be together, even if you were trying to kill one another. I used Amy again to draw you two together. I gave Vergil the information on the necklace and what it could do. He was drawn to her by greed while you were drawn by the need to protect her."

"My only issue would've been that Vergil managed to come into his powers, and is rather good at using them. But you took care of that for me by poisoning him, didn't you?"

"How could you know Vergil wouldn't kill me before we could even get this far? Or Amy for that matter?" Dante asked.

"True, but her death would've fueled your fire wouldn't it? You would've been even more determined to come and find Vergil. Hell, maybe even kill him and make my job that much easier. As for him killing you, well, I did have someone keeping an eye out for you. You wouldn't recognize him now, with the scar and all, but you and Nathan seemed to get along just fine when he rescued you on the highway."

Dante turned to look at Nathan who only glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Dante studied his face, trying to imagine that goofy look the kid had given him on this boys face. The distance and the lighting were making it hard, but Dante hadn't been paying any attention to the kid at the time. Nathan looked at him guiltily, and then looked away.

"Enough already!" Nathan finally said. "Let's end this." He pulled Amy away from Vergil, but she pulled against him.

"Stop this! Don't let this happen Nathan!" She begged, reaching an arm out for Vergil's shoulder.

"Ahhh, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" Joseph said with a smirk as he gazed upon his son. "But I'm afraid she can't go just yet, I still...require her."

Nathan and Amy stopped and looked at the old devil. Nathan's eyes widened and he pulled Amy behind him. "Y-you said you wouldn't hurt her."

Joseph's mouth widened into a cold smile that lit cruelty into his eyes. He walked forward towards where they stood, Vergil laying by his feet. "Come now Nathan. You didn't think I'd let you two go so easily did you? After all, she's been groomed from day one to be the lamb tied to a stake. Her usefulness ends with her ultimate sacrifice. I WILL regain my strength, and you will not stop me." His voice rumbled in the air like boulders threatening to crush from above.

"I won't let you." Nathan responded, and for the first time she heard no signs of fear in his voice. It was deathly calm, serious, and unafraid of the looming presence of the old devil. "If you need blood spilt, then let it be your own!"

"Isn't this cute?" Joseph asked with amusement as he looked around towards Dante. "But you know that isn't a bad idea… My blood, after all, would get the job done a lot quicker wouldn't you agree?"

The old devil reached a hand out quickly and wrapped one hand around Nathan's throat. Amy dug her nails into her father's arm to try and break the hold, but he only backhanded her with his other hand. Amy fell beside Vergil with a throbbing in her head.

Nathan was lifted from his feet, gasping for breath as he was carried to the middle of the symbol in the floor. "You couldn't have left well enough alone, could you boy? I always told myself I'd rid you of her, and it seems now I shall part you from her forever."

Nathan's hand shot upwards to dig a knife he had hidden at his father's ribcage. It plunged in with a squelch and a wheeze from the Joseph. He did not falter his grip though, only smiled wildly as no blood came from the wound.

"Idiot boy! This is merely the shell I inhabit." He laughed as he pulled the knife from his chest.

Amy's eyes were fuzzy, but she could see two brilliant marbles of blue just in front of her. She blinked to get her vision back.

"Shhhhh." Amy felt warm breath on her face, and finally her eyes focused to see Vergil laying next to her. He was awake, one finger to his lips.

"Vergil, help us." She mouthed quietly to him. He rolled his eyes to the side, as if to determine how far away they were.

Then Amy suddenly sat up as she heard a sickening sound. Like something drowning, a gulping wet noise that shook her to her core. She looked up to see Joseph holding Nathan in one hand, a bloody knife in the other and a large amount of blood falling to the floor at her brother's feet. Nathan's head lolled backwards before Joseph dropped him uncaringly to lie in a pool of his own blood.

"NO!!" Amy screamed as she leapt up from where she sat. She dropped down beside her brother, looking at the large gash in his throat. He stared up at her with wide eyes. Amy leaned over and lifted her brother's head from off the floor and onto her lap. He looked up at her with misery etched on his face.

"And I just found you again." He whispered with a rough throaty growl as his blue eyes filled with tears. Amy choked back at sob and ran her fingers through his hair consolingly, ignoring the blood that had matted it together.

"D-don't say that. Dante and I, we'll get you out of here. You'll come and live with me, OK?"

"C-Could I?" He asked, smiling through his tears.

"Of course! I'll make you smiley cake pancakes every morning for breakfast, like we use to remember? I'll even take up the piano again, and maybe even teach you." Amy said, trying her best to smile for him even as her tears began to fall.

"I missed you...so much Amy..." Nathan groaned as a sudden pain hit him. "I'm so sorry any of this ever happened to you."

"It's OK! We'll have plenty of time to make up for all the lost time. Just stay with me." She leaned over and kissed his forehead. He placed a hand on her arm, almost as if she were to slip away from him at any moment.

"I'm j-just...so...happy..." Nathan's hand slowly lost its grip on her arm. Amy lifted her head to look down at her brother.

"N-no... Nathan? Don't go!" She shook him, but his blue eyes stared blankly up at her as what was left of his tears fell from the corner of his eyes. Amy pulled him close to her, cradling his form against her own as a fit of uncontrollable sobs hit her. "I'll always take care of you." She managed to get out into between deep gasping breaths. "You'll always be with me."

Amy heard a loud yell come from somewhere close by. It was Joseph, something was happening to him. The person she and Nathan had trusted to take care of them, to guide them safely through life. The father who had abandoned her, killed her mother, beaten and ultimately killed her brother all for the sake of his own greed and selfishness. A burning wave of hatred as she had never known was boiling in her veins as she lay her brother on the floor. She gently closed his eyes before standing up with her hot tears still flowing. She was in a rage of grief, so reckless and senseless all she wanted to do was hurt the old devil. She threw herself at her father's back, grabbing onto his throat from behind and digging her nails in so hard one of them broke and held itself in his skin. Joseph was caught in the midst of some transformation, so he wasn't immediate to react to her.

"You BASTARD!" She screamed in his ear as high pitched as she could. His astonishment at her actions lasted just long enough for her to puncture his skin. It passed though, and he tossed her off of him with the kind of strength that could break a body. She flew into the wall with a hard thud.

Dante watched in horror as Amy lay still and quiet on the floor. It was wrong, all wrong. The sound coming from Joseph now, the pool of blood surrounding the dead boy, and Amy's stillness. He pulled hard and found that the binding was weakened.

"Dante!" He suddenly heard, and saw Vergil standing off to the side. He tossed Dante his sword, and in return Dante not only handed over Yamato but also one of his guns. Vergil let it drop without catching it.

"Just trust me you stubborn ass!" He called to his brother. "Use the gun!"

Both of them aimed from two different directions and unloaded the clips from each guns into Joseph while he was suspended in part transformation. He laughed wildly as they did it, almost challenging them to shoot him more. Soon though the light emanating from him was going away, and Joseph looked around at them bewildered.

"W-what have you done?!" He screamed, falling down to the ground with a gasp. He suddenly saw Vergil and glared at Dante. "H-how is he awake?! HOW!"

Dante pulled the small vial from him pocket with a cocky grin. "Oh, I'm sorry, was I supposed to use all of this on him?" The vial was empty. Joseph gave him a puzzled look. "Cheer up old timer! I made sure to put the rest into my guns for this occasion. After all, you said it yourself..." He grinned in a satisfying way. "It won't KILL the bastard, but it will weaken him. So, I guess this means that we'll have the fun of sending you BACK to hell!"

"NO!" Joseph creeched, glowering daggers at them both and standing. He may be weakened, but he could still fight. Dante and Vergil ran at him from both side, and somehow he managed to hold them both off. He imagined he was lucky that Vergil was still weakened by the poison, but still the ferocity in their eyes well made up for that. "I'll send you to meet your parents!" He hissed as he lashed out at them with his whip in one had, and a sword in the other.

The whip caught Dante on his side, beneath his coat and the pain of the bladed whip made his side explode with pain that brought tears to his eyes. Vergil leapt onto Joseph, but he only knocked him down in mid air. Vergil managed to catch himself from falling, but suddenly noted that Dante was on all fours.

"Get up!" He yelled at Dante as he went in for another attack.

"Bite me!" Dante groaned as he tried to stand. He was beginning to wonder if those blades weren't dipped in something, because he had never felt a sting like this before. It sapped his energy while every movement, including breath, set his skin on fire. Dante blocked another lash of the whip, catching it on his blade and thrusting it back and away.

Dante took the opportunity to slash at Joseph, and this time blood did come from the cut he made on his face. His transformation had begun, but the bullets imbedded in him had slowed the process. If they did not kill him before he regained his power then not even Vergil or Dante could defeat him.

He stopped next to Vergil who tossed him back his now empty gun with distaste. Both stood and watched as Joseph turned to them, a maddening look in his eye as he felt the warm blood seeping from his cheek. He stared at his hand as if he couldn't believe it.

"I'm going to take it Dante. You need to finish this." Vergil said quietly.

"Take what?" Dante asked puzzled.

"I'm stronger than you are, especially now that you are wounded."

"You're the one who's poisoned."

"Quit wasting time and be ready to take his head off." Vergil growled. Dante stared sideways at his brother for a moment, and then he grasped his meaning.

"Bullshit, we'll just rush him" Dante said.

"If you want to live long enough to see another battle you'll do as you're told." Vergil turned and met his twin's eyes. It was so odd how he could be reminded now, of all times, of their last meeting.

_There's no time to fight Dante. I promise I will come back for you. No matter what happens, OK?_

_Don't forget about me Vergil._

_I won't..._

Vergil had thought about his past so much in the past week he was pretty sure he'd never need to think of it again. He wanted this over. It should have felt odd to be standing here with Dante instead of against him. It felt unnervingly natural though and so he wanted it over with as quickly as possible.

Dante just continued to glare back at his brother. Now was no time to get all noble, but Vergil's gaze wasn't budging.

"Do it Dante." Vergil said. "I can't imagine you'd have any issues with this."

"You're a real ass, you know that?" Dante growled at him.

"Then this should be quite the treat for you." Vergil said, a smirk crossing his thin lips. He suddenly ran at Joseph, leaving Dante no alternative. Vergil ran directly into Joseph's line of fire. Joseph grinned deviously as he rounded about and met Vergil's blade with his own. But Vergil did not block it properly. He let it slide off of his own and gash into his abdomen where it became lodged. At the same time he embedded Yamato into Joseph's gut. The two were entwined with one another.

Dante watched wide eyed as his brother knelt down on one knee before the ever growing mass that was Joseph. His skin was expanding and shedding off to reveal an almost bug-like skin beneath. Vergil's face turned side long to Dante.

"DO IT!" He growled with a gasp as he fought to keep them entwined. Dante gritted his teeth, squeezed rebellion in his hand and started running towards them.

"Don't tell me what to do!" He growled as he ran at Vergil's back, used it as a step and launched himself up at Joseph. He kicked him hard in the face, causing him to topple over onto his back.

"You idiot!" Vergil gasped as the blade was wrenched from inside of him. He let go of Yamato to make sure it stayed imbedded. "Why didn't you cut off his head?"

Dante ignored Vergil and came to stand over the wounded and weakened Joseph. He was baring blackened teeth at Dante, hissing and spitting like mad. Dante pushed Yamato further and put his foot against his throat.

"Before I kill you, give me the name of your master." Dante growled, easing on his throat to allow him speech. Joseph only laughed up at him.

"He will devour you ALL!"

"One more time!" Dante pressed the blade in past the hilt and Joseph let out an agonizing scream. "And this time, you had better make it worth my while." Joseph watched him for a moment, a large grin on his face.

"M-m-m." He stuttered, and Dante leaned closer to hear the name. "MASTER!" Joseph screeched into the room. Dante brought his blade down to lop off Joseph's head, silencing him forever.

Dante turned from the fallen body, his breath catching in his throat. He half expected to face Vergil now, more than ready for this second battle even with his wounds. Vergil however, wasn't beside him anymore. He was crouched down on one knee next to Amy. Dante watched with wonder as his brother gently lifted the girl up from the floor, into his arms, and stood again to turn and face him. In the dust left by the aftermath of the Joseph falling on the dusty floor it made actual details harder to see, but Dante could have sworn he saw his brother lower his face down to her before he turned to face him.

Vergil walked towards him, every step careful and yet quick, and then he was standing before Dante with a scowl. He stared eye to eye with his younger half, almost as if debating his next move.

"Get her out of here." Vergil said finally after a long silence. Dante raised an untrusting eyebrow at him.

"Just like that, huh?" He asked.

"Our time brother, will come. She is of no use to me, and never belonged in our world to begin with." He said with a tone of finality.

Dante paused for a moment before reaching his arms out to take Amy from him. Vergil leaned forward to place her in his arms, but as Dante made to take her he felt Vergil grab his wrists.

"Know this Dante." He said quietly, leaning closer to Dante with the girl between them. "The next time we meet, I will show no mercy. This is not over yet." Another moment of silence and Vergil released Amy into his arms. Vergil turned quickly from him and began to walk off.

"What about you Vergil? What will you do now?" Dante called after his twin.

"Get her out of here Dante. I will give the boy a decent burial." Vergil said, looking down at Amy's brother. "It's something she would've wanted." He continued, more to himself this time than to Dante.

Dante did not wait to see Vergil's next move. He was beginning to feel Amy's weight and knew Vergil would want to leave it here between them. _For now anyway..._ He turned on his heels and made his way slowly from the bowels of the old home to where fresh air waited to fill his lungs.

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**Until chapter 14!**


	14. Farewell

**This is the last full chapter! It's also the longest!**

**I wanted to make sure that everyone is aware that I placed this story in the DMC3 timeline. Meaning that when Dante says it has been a year since the two have seen eachother THIS is the event they are referring to.**

**You might notice there is a bonus chapter after this. Well, I've begun writing a sequel to Bleed for Me. :D This bonus chapter is the teaser for that. If enough interest comes from it I will finish the first chapter and post it. Not sure how soon, considering I have some others I should finish first, but we'll see. I've also considered writing what I titled "Bleed for Me, Lost Memories" which are basically ideas I had for Amy/Vergil/Dante flashbacks that never made it in. Like Dante and Vergil's first meeting after thinking the other was dead etc. We'll see on that too...lol**

**I loved writing this final chapter. I'm hoping you guys will like it as much as I do. I have to say thank you to all the people who have stuck by this story since its infancy. I appreciate your insight, advice, and your messages of encouragement. I will take these with me as I continue to write in future. :)**

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**Chapter 14**

**Farewell**

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Dante sat looking out Amy's bedroom window to the sky and streets below. Amy lay on her bed, having not yet woken from the nastiness that had occurred two days ago. He had feared the worse for her and had considered taking her to the hospital. However, she had woken up long enough to tell him to stop looking in her underwear drawer, so he guessed she'd be OK with some rest.

Dante was partly thankful for this, not only because it gave him the time to rest, but also because he wasn't ready for what might come with her consciousness. After everything that had happened he was feeling anxious to get her away from him. It wasn't what she had brought upon him, but what he felt they had brought to her. The sooner he left, the sooner she could be safe.

Yet, for all these feelings he could not bring himself to just leave her. He remembered the look she'd given him when he'd tried abandoning her before. He wanted to end this properly so they could both walk away. No regrets.

He checked the bandage on Amy's hand again. He had been idly doing this every few hours to keep himself busy. It made it easier not to think and it gave him something to do while he waited. He checked her shoulder, which was having a much harder time healing with all the strain she'd put on herself. Dante rolled his eyes, wishing she had just stayed back at the hospital like he told her to. Maybe then she wouldn't know all the terrible things that had been revealed to her.

"Where am I?" Amy's voice came out gruffly. Dante looked up at her quickly, not expecting her to be lucid. Her eyes were partially open; her lips dry as she tried to talk.

"At home." Dante replied, sitting next to her on the bed. He leaned over her to look into her face much like a doctor might to examine the eyes.

"Nathan?"

Dante bowed his head, his eyes not meeting her own. "I'm sorry Amy." He half expected her to cry, but she didn't. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"And Vergil?" She continued.

"Gone. You're safe now though." Dante didn't want her to think about any of this now. It was hard enough that he didn't know how to tell her goodbye without setting her off. He wasn't good at this sincere stuff. He tried to think of a smartass remark to counter this dilemma, but nothing came to mind. Amy had turned her head to look out the window, one of her arms lying on his shoulder as if she were trying to comfort _him_.

"You keep spacing out like that and I'm taking you to the hospital." Dante said, his voice breaking her thoughts. Amy looked up at him.

"No Dante, I'll be all right. Just a bump on the head." She said with a small smile.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you ripped some stitches too." He added, looking at the bloodstain on her shoulder.

"I'm too tired to move tonight. I promise I'll go first thing tomorrow. It stopped bleeding, so I should be OK." She said it just a little too quickly, and Dante felt his chest tighten. Why was she being so calm?

"Are you sure you're OK?" Dante asked, removing her hand from his shoulder and holding it in his.

"Don't worry about me Dante. We're safe now, right?" Dante raised an eyebrow at her, not really knowing if he should believe the small smile she gave him. Normally he wouldn't encourage tears from any woman, but something scared him when he didn't see them on her face. She was too easily set off on her emotions, but now she looked tired and numbed to them.

"Well then." He said. He felt so uncomfortable. It wasn't that he didn't want to say goodbye, but not knowing how to go about it without feeling like a snake in the grass for leaving. It felt wrong somehow, after everything they had been through together. Had Vergil been right? Was separation from people you cared for the best solution? He did care for her, he decided. If only to protect the girl inside of her who could still hope in such a dark world. He was so young now, but she had been the first companion to fill his time outside the bedroom. She had taken all his world could throw at her, and here she sat quietly smiling at him. He never thought he would need to feel comforted by a human. The urge came to him now though.

Dante leaned forward and wrapped his arms about Amy's laying figure. She greeted him by placing her arms around him. He did not feel anything now when she neared him, and she allowed him to take the comfort he needed without words.

"I'll miss you too." She said into his hair. He was relieved that she'd been the one to say it first. Whatever bitterness had been within him towards her and Vergil's relationship had ebbed away by now. He could consider her a friend, someone who had stolen a glimpse into their private world and had not run away. Her embrace of him now filled something he did not realize had been vacant before. A friend he could call on, even if she smacked him around from time to time in the process. Dante chuckled into her shoulder at the thought. He pulled away from her and watched her face closely.

"Maybe I'll look you up the next time I'm in town." He said with a smirk.

"I'd like that." She replied, putting a hand on his cheek. "Just promise if I invite you for dinner you'll wear something decent." She added, flicking the collar of his coat.

"Or maybe I could show up to dinner wearing a lot less?" He said with a boyish grin, lifting his brows up and down and marveling in the sound of her laughter as she punched him playfully. He appreciated her humor, because it made it OK for him to cover his sadness with the more familiar feeling of laughter.

"I wouldn't go that far. Just as long as you... don't forget about me." Amy's voice wavered a bit, and he could see the making of tears somewhere in the back of her eyes, but she did not shed them. "My door is always open to you Dante."

"Even if I'm hung over?" He asked.

"Yeah." She gulped and put her arms about him again. Her pulled her to sit up and for a long time they sat quietly holding one another. Prolonging the inevitable.

Dante handed her a small card when he pulled away. "This has my number on it. If you need me, just call."

Amy nodded her head and sat the card on her nightstand. "I'll walk you to the door." She said, removing the blanket.

"Oh no, you rest. I think I remember where it is." He said, stopping her from getting up, and recovering her. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You take care Amy, and remember. I WILL hold you to that offer of taking me in when I'm drunk."

Amy nodded her head in response, an overly bright smile playing on her face that didn't seem to connect to her eyes. Dante stood and looked at her for a moment, waved his hand and then left the bedroom.

When he had made it down to the streets he found that he felt a little lighter. He turned when he had crossed the street to stare up into Amy's lit window. Amy stood looking down at him; she was watching him go and waving her hand at him. Suddenly his cell phone rang with an unknown number.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Stop looking into people's bedroom windows you pervert!" Amy's voice said in a teary giggle. Dante looked up and noticed she was holding a phone to her ear. He smirked up at her, waving again.

"Trust me, if I had wanted to see you naked it would've happened already. Goodnight Amy." He answered, hanging up before she could reply. For a moment he watched her and then turned to go down the street, vowing to himself that he would make good on his promise of coming to see her again. About never forgetting her.

Dante stopped once he was halfway around the corner, sensing a change in the air. He turned and looked up at Amy's building with a knowing smile.

"Don't do anything I would!" He called out to the sky above him. When no answer came back he chuckled and turned the corner. "I'd be suprised if you knew how, you old prude." Dante continued to walk, taking the same street he had come when this all began.

----------

Amy unwrapped her bandaged hand as she ascended the roof stairs, quiet and calm as she could. The gauze trailed behind her as she walked numbly up, but she paid it no mind, casting it off absentmindedly. When she reached the top she opened the door and stepped out into the cool air of early morning. The sky was still dark, but the faintest of lights could be seen in the horizon. The moment Amy closed the door behind her she dropped to her knees and wept.

She just needed to get away, anywhere that was void of others. She couldn't stand looking at the photo's scattered about her apartment. _I have to escape. _

She had been feeling this heaviness since she'd seen Nathan fall, but she had been so filled with other emotions since then that this single weakness wasn't needed. She had to be strong. Even with Dante just a few moments ago she could not let it come out. She had broken down like this before with him, but this pain she was feeling was something she didn't want to share. She somehow felt she would never see him again, and that was not how she wanted him to remember her. All she wanted was to be alone and to rage with these emotions in private.

Amy bent towards the cool stone of the rooftop and beat her hands against it. It was as if there was too much emotion, that crying alone could not spill it out quick enough. She let out a cry that echoed into the streets below. Her face felt warm and her hands ached as hot, salty tears fell onto the open lashes on her hand. _Good... _Amy thought.It was the only connection left after all...

Nathan… Dante… Vergil… All gone, along with every hope and memory she had ever cherished. Bitterness and upset threatened to consume her like a poison and yet she couldn't quiet the ache, stifle the inner scream of anger and misery. It was boiling over and no matter how hard she gritted her teeth it wouldn't go away.

It was while she was lost in these thoughts when she heard the rustle of cloth somewhere to her right. It sounded like a flag blowing in the wind, but there was no flag on this building. Amy turned her head slowly to the side and found her eyes locked on a tall figure. The long coat he wore was the culprit that had stolen her thoughts, blowing around straight legs that lead up towards a tight aristocratic torso. Her heart stopped, lurched, and found its tempo again. Amy's eyes fuzzed over as she looked at Vergil's face, looking down at her with slight interest. He was standing on the ledge, turned sideways to the point he could either come onto the roof or jump over to the streets below if it should suit him.

It took Amy a moment to register the startled look in his eyes. It was a look that told her she had caught him off guard. Possibly he had been standing out here when she burst through the door. What held her fixated though was that he had not taken those moments to take off into the darkness. Instead he had watched her as she let go of all her emotions. Perhaps he'd hoped to get away before she noticed, but as the two gazed at one another in complete silence she realized she had caught him.

"Wait!" She almost yelped as she noticed him turn slightly towards the street. Amy was on her feet and holding a hand out in his direction. Vergil paused, still looking to the street below. Now that she had his attention though Amy didn't know what to say. Well, she did, but the words wouldn't come out. What would she say to him after everything that had happened? Would he even care? Would it matter at all to him?

"Spit it out." She heard Vergil say as her voice faltered again.

"I'm trying!" She growled back, turning to look around, as if the questions were written around the ground at her feet. Amy wiped her face and sniffed her nose to buy time. Why is this so hard? She bit her lip and looked up at him again. He had turned completely to the street now, his back turned to her.

"Jerk." She said aloud, and at this Vergil turned to look at her.

"I beg your pardon?" He asked. Even with the courteous sentence she could tell he did not mean it that way.

"You had better! Just up and leaving like that. What is wrong with you? " She growled to him, walking forward to stand just next to the ledge he was on. The sudden growl from her own voice surprised her, but it was the misery talking to mask what she really wanted to say. Something that she had deemed would be worthless to the man standing before her, and it hurt enough to make her snap at him. What had she expected him to do upon seeing her again? More than a look of tired boredom and his usual coldness at the very least. After everything she had at least expected more than this.

Vergil was already considerably taller than she was, but up on the ledge he gave new meaning to the term giant. It should have felt imposing to have him hovering so high above her, but she was fueled now by emotions that did not include fear.

"There is nothing wrong with me. I'm not the one who is bloodying up the rooftop like a madwoman." He said in a bored tone.

Amy looked down at her hand and realized that she had reopened one of the wounds when she had tightened her fist, and beat it on the ground. As she looked at it she felt him jump down. Not to the streets, but directly in front of her. When she looked up it wasn't her he was looking at but her hands.

"You are a walking injury aren't you?" He said as he took her one hand in his to look at it. Amy didn't recoil from him, but watched his face as he looked down. She could see the faint remains of the scar on his forehead. It reminded her of the time spent in the room together, and all the things she had heard in his delirium. Somehow it made it hard to stay angry, especially because she was relieved to see him. One minute she was glaring at him and the next she was crying again. Even though it hurt to do it she squeezed his hand in her own.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again." She said quietly. Vergil raised an eyebrow at her.

"What difference would that have made?"

"Why are you here Vergil?" She asked, ignoring his question. He frowned at her.

"Dante of course." He said it as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. She did not respond, only eyed him closely. Vergil was very good at hiding his emotions, but perhaps it was only because people had never been physically close enough to see them. Vergil's eyes could give away split second reactions that were not noticeable at a distance. He didn't object at her inspection of him though, only continued to look at her hand.

"I need to ask you something." She said, slowly removing her hand from his and backing away a bit. It was odd how close he had come willingly, and with the long silence between them it had brought up questions she had been thinking about for a while. "And I want an honest answer." He said nothing at this, only continued to watch her. "Could you do that for me Vergil?"

"Within reason." He replied.

"Dante said you tried to kill me..." She turned to look up at him again, but his face remained stone like. "It would make sense, wouldn't it? After all, you did tell me you would eventually…" Amy paused. "I should have just let it go, but something has been bothering me."

"Is there a question somewhere in all this?" He asked, looking agitated.

"Somewhere, yes. When I first met Dante he told me about what he called the "perks" of being a half demon. One of them was his ability to sense you when you were near. You can sense him too, right? I can't help but wonder then why you didn't know he was standing behind you when he shot you."

Vergil stopped looking downward and turned his face towards his left, away from her. She noticed he seemed to tense, but she might not have noticed it if she wasn't watching him so carefully.

"You would never let Dante get away with that… You would have stopped him before he…"

"I have yet to hear your question." He growled.

"You didn't want to kill me, did you?" She said quickly to counter his interruption. Vergil finally turned and glared down at her. "You would've stopped him Vergil. You would have ignored me and struck at him. But you let him shoot you."

"LET him?" He sneered, walking a step closer to her and making her back up.

"Admit it." She said with a shaky voice. "Even your pride would say the only way he could sneak up on you like that is if you had let him." She stared back at him as he continued to glower down at her. It wasn't time to shrink away, but to end this. She had to know. "Why Vergil? Why didn't you do it?"

Vergil watched her, his eyes changing from underlying anger to civil uncaring. He walked a ways away from her. To her surprise he bent low a bit and put a hand to his face, passing it over in a tired manner.

"You said you would answer my question." She pressed.

"I said within reason…"

"Stop it Vergil!" She suddenly yelled at him. "Just stop it. I know what will happen, I KNOW you'll leave me here. That you will make sure we'll never cross paths again. What could you possible lose by telling me this? All I want is an honest answer." Amy took a breath and cooled her tone down. "You left me back then too without a single answer and it messed me up. Give me some closure so I can let you go…" She was biting at her lip, not allowing a single tear to come through. She had thought she'd never have this chance, but now that it was here she'd be damned if she would let him go without a fight.

Vergil stared at her wide eyed, as if he'd never thought to see such emotion over something he considered so trivial. Then he looked almost thoughtful as he gazed beyond her. He shook his head as if he didn't believe he could do such a thing. That he even would.

"You understand more than I've ever given you credit for." He said. Amy wasn't sure if he was addressing her, or speaking his thoughts. "Perhaps I overlooked a few things. So tell me Amy, after what Dante told you why did I wake to find you still with us?"

"Because I didn't believe it." She said simply.

"HOW could you have not believed it? Have I been _that_ good to you? What could have possibly prompted you to believe that I wouldn't want you dead?"

"You called to me Vergil."

"What?" He almost whispered. The tone Amy heard could've been a hiss, but it also could've been disbelief.

"_Amy…What have I done_?" She said. "It must've been while I was still with you, while I was unconscious. I remember that very clearly though."

"How could you know it wasn't just a dream?" He asked with a mock laugh in his tone.

"I couldn't have. At least, I didn't until I saw the look on your face just now." She replied. "Answer my question Vergil."

"I WANTED you GONE! Don't you get it? If I had handed you over to Dante without a qualm then what would have been your next move? Would you stay away once you had heard how I handed you over? No, you would've come on a fool's mission to seek me out. I took the necklace from you, severed all ties binding you to this mess. I had to get rid of you, but damn it all I couldn't kill you!" He raged suddenly. Amy stepped back at the intensity of his voice as it echoed into the sky. There was damnation in his eyes, as if each word was hard for him to say, for him to admit.

"You always were too sentimental for your own good. But if I gave you a reason to be afraid, you would go on with your life without a second thought towards me." He scowled as he ran a hand through his hair. "Why can't you just look at me with hatred? Even when you're trembling in fear I see pity in your eyes. I don't want your pity Amy."

"Then what do you want?" She asked too quickly.

"I wanted to make you forget me. To be rid of you, your memory, and yet you followed anyway." He narrowed his eyes in incredulity then closed them. His face suddenly looked as if he were trying to remember something difficult.

"_Calm down._" He repeated softly. "_I won't let them hurt you._" He opened his hardened eyes and there was a confused glance hidden in it. "I heard you… I _felt_ you with me." He whispered. "I tried so hard when we were kids to not know you. I purposely cut you with words, glances, and still you never stopped trying. And then, back there, even after what Dante told you…" He scoffed. "You are either the bravest girl I know, or the most foolish."

"At least you didn't say stupid." She said with a nervous laugh. Vergil's face remained stoic as he looked down at her.

"No, stupidity is born from ignorance. You knew full well what the consequences could be when you did what you did. Hell, I'd wager you knew them for every single stunt you've pulled till now." There was lightness in his tone as he said it. "You, my dear, are a fool."

"If I hadn't been, I would've never saw my brother again, and you might have never come back here." She said quietly. "I can't say I've regretted anything I've done so far. So if it's foolish, then I'm a fool." They just stood looking at one another as the cool wind whirred between them.

"I should be going." He said suddenly, turning from her.

"Wait." She said, loud enough for him to hear. "I need to know something else." He turned to look at her over his shoulder. "When you were sick, you kept talking about accidentally killing someone." For the first time Amy saw Vergil purposely avoiding her eyes. Maybe trying to remember what he had revealed in his delirium.

"Memories can be like a poison." He said after a long pause, looking at a window on the building across from them. "They've proved to be thus far in my case. It's always the most painful of those that are recalled in our quietest of moments." Amy stood patiently, watching him even when he refused to look at her.

"She should have _told _me. The woman I called mother, that is. Maybe if Dante and I had known our origins, interacted with other children, we might've been prepared for reality outside our front step. We could've avoided mishaps, and accidents."

"When she died, and I was cast into the world I knew next to nothing of what I was capable. My only playmate was Dante, and so I was unaware that my strength was more than that of an average child. Dante was an equal opponent, who I could rough house with easily, as most boys at that age do. When I was alone, before you and I ever crossed paths, I was a homeless child. If I had been hardened by anything, it was by humans themselves." He looked towards her as he said humans, as if to emphasize that she was among them.

"Regardless I was still a child who longed for companionship, not yet so hardened to others that I couldn't reach out. I managed to make a friend once, my first since losing Dante. While most people looked at my different appearance with fear, he only saw me as his friend. It was my first lesson in why I could not be a part of your world. My childhood died with him, when I realized a moment of boyish rough housing had snapped his neck." A deep frown was set on his face. "Murder born of ignorance. I killed him, and I didn't know how or why. The boy's father though didn't care that I didn't understand. Didn't want to know that I was only playing as I did with my brother. To them I was a freak, and a monster who had viciously murdered his only son. They took me into the woods; his father, mother and a few others. Anger fueled by their grief was put into every stroke."

Amy looked at him in sad horror as he pulled his jacket from his arm to show the same long scar she had seen earlier, illuminated by the light above the doorway. One piece of what she was sure was ten times more scars hiding beneath that vest. He didn't look sad, only emotionless. Possibly numbed by the memory to the point he didn't know how he should feel about it.

"They left me, tied to a tree. I think they hoped I would die there, but they didn't know the blood that ran through my veins would not allow me that peace. Whatever protection had been put on us, it apparently only prevented someone killing us. No, I remained tied long enough to regain my strength and free myself. Funny, how I can heal so easily now, but these scars have never disappeared." He paused as he pulled his coat back on. "I wanted nothing more to do with their world, their kind, but I couldn't live on the streets forever. I was still too young to know how to truly be on my own. So when I was found, taken to the orphanage, I bided my time. I never tried to make friends, and the adults seemed to give up on me after the first couple of months. And then…" He turned to her again. "I met you."

Amy didn't know how to reply to this. She was still trying to block the image of Vergil being beaten out of her mind. She wanted to go to him, to hold him, but the look on his face was stopping her. _I don't want your pity. _

"So now you know. Our dealings are at an end, as I've answered all your questions I take it?"

"Not all." She replied, taking a step forward. He eyed her closely and Amy felt that this might be the only time she'd be allowed to ask him anything and get an honest answer. "Is there nothing I can do to change your mind? To stop whatever plan you have to further your own power?"

"What could you possibly think would derail me of a lifetime of planning and searching?" He asked with a smirk. "You cannot move mountains, no matter how hard you push."

"I wouldn't call it a push so much as a gentle prod in the right direction. As for what I have to offer, it's not my will I'm hoping to sway you with, but your own. You could have a life, a brother at your side."

"If that is supposed to convince me, then you've obviously never done this before." He said mockingly. "Dante and I… We can never be the way we were, I will not allow it. I have set my course and he his own."

"When you've reached this goal of yours, what are you planning to do with all this power? What could be so important you would throw away all that you once cared for?"

"I've answered your questions quite beyond my real need, so I think we can leave it here." He said with a tone of finality. This was his stopping point, as this had gone on far longer than he wanted it to. Despite this he only stood and looked at her, not making to leave at all. Amy was looking at her hand, and Vergil didn't like the look that was there. "I..." he began, but faltered for a moment. "Your brother, I removed him from the house. He should rest peacefully." Vergil cleared his throat, not really sure why he was telling her this. When she had looked at her hand, at the raw gashes, he remembered how she'd gotten them. Even if he couldn't see it then, he knew what they were. He had heard what went on between Amy and Nathan, recalling a lot more than he would've liked once the poison had left his system. It suddenly made him feel her mind turned to Nathan.

"Thank you." She said in an quiet voice. Amy stepped towards him again, leaving enough comfortable room between them. She lifted a hand to his arm, placing it halfway between his shoulder and his elbow.

Vergil watched her carefully as she took hold of him, but he wasn't really sure what it was she was doing. She did not look at him, only concentrated on his arm. It had been such an odd thing, seeing her up here. What had his true intentions been? A part of him was keeping an eye on Dante, but it was because Dante was with _her_. He wanted to see Dante leave her with his own eyes and perhaps make sure... _damn it all_... she was all right. It ached somewhere to think this, but he also felt a bit weak at the simplicity of the quiet way she was standing near him. It didn't help that Dante had called upto him in that know-it-all voice. _I would never do anything you would..._

"What is it?" He asked, internally cursing himself at how wavered his tone suddenly sounded.

"I need to ask you one last favor." She replied. She still wouldn't look at him, and there was a strange tone in her voice. Fright, excitement, and insecurity all mixed into one. Maybe she was holding his arm to make sure he would not flee, or to steady herself while she struggled with whether or not to ask for this favor. She shivered slightly as a slight breeze passed between them.

"Ask your favor." Vergil said when she hesitated. He was beyond whatever hatred he had shown her before now, feeling it to be as childish as it was when he was a boy. She had shown herself to him in moments of danger, somehow managing to channel a strength he would've never thought possible of her. It was this alone that had not made him leave before this, and it was this that held him now.

Slowly her head turned up to look at him, and for a moment she searched his face unflinchingly. Her eyes were bright, but fearful. _No, not fear but something like it._ Vergil thought.

"Don't pull away" She whispered.

_What?_

Amy stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his. His first instinct was to pull away, but then he understood what she had asked of him. She wound her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. It was a shock, because he realized this was her doing. No necklace left to guide them like two lovers in a play, she had made this choice all on her own. He felt his face warm, and just when he leaned in to further it she broke from him. He felt her breath on his ear as she leaned close to it, her warm cheek against his own, and whispered something... Something he would not share with the world even if his life depended on it.

She pulled back from him slowly, the warmth leaving with her as she stood on her own two feet again. "Goodbye." She said quietly, wetness dampening her eyes as she turned and headed for the doorway. Vergil stood and watched her dumbfounded as the door closed with a hollow clink behind her.

----------

Amy stood with her back to the door, her heart racing with the adrenaline of what she had done. She knew if given the chance to see him again it would end this way. She knew she could not sway him, but it didn't mean she couldn't take something with her, and leave him with the truth she had been fumbling with all these years. That which had only become apparent to her with the thought of never seeing him again. She had felt it back then too when David had tricked her. The jolt in her stomach when she thought Vergil was dead, and the overwhelming joy when she saw him standing in the lawn.

When she saw him standing on the roof she could've jumped on him the way she did as a girl. Amy smiled at the thought, but had not done so out of fear of his reaction. If he had rejected her she would've suffered a blow, but if he would embrace her she knew she wouldn't have been able to let him go. She needed to though, because no matter how much she tried she could not change what time had done to him. She could steal one last memory from him though. So she took the one thing she had never asked for, and gave the one thing she'd never given to him.

A long moment passed with Amy leaning against the door. Everything was quiet now, even her heartbeat had stilled. She had hit the top step when she heard the door open and close behind her. She turned and saw Vergil standing in front of the door. He looked unsure, out of place, and anxious.

"You are a fool." He half growled, trying to put steel into his voice. He stepped closer, and Amy tried not to smile at the look on his face. He was not cool and collected as he normally was, and even his eyes gave way to some uncertainty. He reached a hand out and put it around her wrist as her hand rested on the banister. He pulled her close. "But I guess" He whispered. "...so am I."

Her lowered his head and gave her a proper kiss. It wasn't demanding, or harsh as she had felt from him before. It was more exploring, careful and unrushed. Amy did not falter, having left behind the need to feel threatened by this gesture from him. She knew with every part of her that this would be their end, these few quiet moments holding one another in the roof stairwell. She didn't want to think of it, and so she concentrated on the feeling of him. In this place neither were who they were, and for that reason they could express and say everything by touch and sense. Vergil was not the hell-bent half demon, but a man who could be slightly weakened by his own needs he thought he'd buried so long ago.

"Stay" Amy murmured through the kiss.

"No." Vergil replied, kissing her jaw line with childlike exploration.

"Please." She sighed as she bent low and drew his lips in again. They tumbled towards the wall and Amy let out a soft grunt as she hit her head on it. She actually laughed. Vergil pulled back to look at her, wanting to see the warmth that radiating from her as his hand cradled where she struck her head. Amy watched him as he studied her face.

"Lie to me then." Amy said quietly. Vergil gave her an odd look and shook his head. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, breathing deeply in as if to remember her scent.

"I won't." He said, his voice making her forehead tickle slightly. She put her arms up around his neck and settled herself against him. She didn't want him to leave, but she somehow knew his foot was out the door long before now and it would not be swayed. Something much older than her and him took priority, and no matter how much she tried to hold on to him it would do no good. He was giving her now, allowing them to drown in one another because it would never go any further than here and now.

Amy grasped onto the back of his coat as he softly kissed her neck. It wasn't lustful, but perhaps a silent apology. It made it all that much harder to feel him begin to pull from her. Amy breathed deeply into his shoulder in some effort to remember him. Soon she was facing Vergil again, his hand forcing her to look at him.

"Where will you go?" She asked as she looked up. Her voice faltered however as she saw the grim look on his face. She raised a hand to touch his face, but he stopped her.

"It doesn't matter where I go." He said stubbornly, suddenly becoming Vergil the half demon again. "What matters is that I must. Forget about this, about me, and do something with your life. Human's have such little time to work with, don't go wasting it."

"And if I do waste it, do you promise to come back and yell at me?" Amy said with a small grin. Vergil lifted a brow at her and shook his head.

"I mean it Amy." He said seriously as he absentmindedly ran a hand through her hair. Amy turned her cheek into his palm and nodded as she watched him. Amy kissed his open palm with trembling lips. Too afraid if she blinked he would be gone. Even as she thought of this she felt his hand pulling from her. Vergil turned from her, went to the door, and paused halfway through it. He looked like he wanted to say something, but the words seemed to fail him. Instead he turned to look at her again, and Amy noticed that Vergil didn't look cold, or scowling. His face was calm, slightly red, but it didn't have the gaunt look it always did. For a brief moment she saw the warmth of a man torn. Not torn enough though. His eyes faltered and he turned and closed the door behind him.

Instinctively Amy ran for the door. A woman who kept wishing for just another moment, even after she has been given it all. By the time she had opened the door however the only thing visible of Vergil was the blue shine of his coat as it went over the side of the ledge and vanished.

Amy put a hand to her lips and silently prayed for Vergil. That his intentions were good, that he would be safe, and that someday he would return to her.

----------

In the darkness of the room a soft light suddenly bloomed into being. The bright fire in the grate played and danced along to the slow piano music. An electrical storm had begun, but Amy and Vergil had barely noticed it since coming into the room. After all, outside the room was reality, but in the confines of it all time and reason seemed to cease existence.

"Stop humming." Vergil said as he played on the piano. Amy sat on one of the chairs by the fire, listening intently to him and humming along.

"I can't." She said simply, eyes closed, with her head leaning back into the chair. "I want to learn this song in my head so I can learn to play it on my own."

"You can't play it. It's my song." Vergil said, scowling at her.

"I know..." She said, looking up from her reverie at him. "That's why I want to learn it. For when..." Amy paused. "...we have to go away from each other. To remember you by." Her words seemed to falter at this. Vergil stopped playing the piano with a mispress of a key. He was half glaring, half wide eyed as he looked at her. After a split second though, his face became normal and he began to play again.

"We'll be old enough to leave within a few years. Maybe you..." But he paused, unable to finish his thought. Amy stood from her chair and walked towards the window, gazing out onto the lawn as lightning crashed against the dark sky.

"What if we get separated?" She asked, putting a knee out to curl into the window sill as she often did. She tucked her nightdress around her, covering even her toes so she looked like a sack of white with a head poking out of it.

"That won't happen." He said in a low voice. Another loud crash and suddenly the sound of rain hit the windows.

"It's raining again." Amy said, her voice suddenly sounding gloomy as she bent her head to rest on her knees.

A long silence followed, except for the sound of the piano playing beneath Vergil's fingers. It was finally broken by Amy, humming along again. This time however, Vergil said nothing and only listened. Both seemed determined to not think of where they would be years from now, especially if it meant away from the familiarity of one another. They would leave that reality outside of the music room.

----------

Amy was woken the next morning, or afternoon, she couldn't tell with how tired she was, by a pounding on her door. She considered ignoring it, but when they didn't leave after 10 minutes she pulled on her robe and hobbled into the living room. Amy opened the door and found two men with full blue uniforms on. Their hats had "Mike's Movers" stitched on them.

"You Ms. Ivers?" The one with the "Nick" patch on his breast pocket asked.

"I-I am."

He handed her a clipboard to sign, and once she had done it two more men showed up with something large. From the angle it was in it was hard to determine what exactly it was. After much difficulty manuevering through the doorway, and a lot of swearing, Amy looked in astonishment at the piano sitting by her door.

Amy walked forward and ran her hand over the long gash she had been sure was Vergil's doing the last time she'd seen it. It was so old, and worn, but she didn't care.

"This too miss." Mover Nick said, handing her an envelope. The envelope had delicate cursive handwriting on it addressed to her. She opened it and saw a very short message scrolled there.

_It is all I can give you._

Amy looked over the paper, but that was all it said.

"Excuse me, where did this come from?" She asked the one man with "Dennis" on his name patch. He looked at the form sheet she'd just sign and shrugged.

"Odd guy, said he was in a hurry and for us to pick the thing up to be delivered here. Billing address is a PO box, no name though... Hey Nicky, why didn't you get a name?" Mover Dennis yelled to the hallway.

"You kidding me? That dude was scary looking, and only glared at me when I tried to take it down. Next time YOU can handle that one." Nickreplied, throwing his hands up and walking down the steps.

"T-that's OK" Amy said with a smile. "I think I have a good idea who it was. Thank you."

When they were gone Amy looked at the piano nervously. It had been so long since she had played, having stopped when...her _mother _died. Somehow the piano was connected to that past she'd tried so hard to forget. Now she knew the truth though, about her mother, brother, and even Vergil. She didn't have to be confused, or hurt by the one thing that had always brought her joy.

Amy laid her fingers on the keys and pulled Vergil's song from her memory. She felt herself relax and she began to play.

_Do something with your life... Don't go wasting it._

"I won't." Amy said into the empty room. "I promise."

* * *

**Bonus Chapter! Go to "Chapter 15"!**


	15. Bleed For Me: Twisted Preview

**Due to a LOT of requests for more Vergil, I have changed my mind...**

**The idea was 3 stories. Bleed For Me, Twisted, and Redemption. They were to follow along side the games, with Twisted being after DMC3 and before DMC1. This means Vergil is a no show, being "dead" as far as Dante knows. However, popular demand is asking for more Vergil and I can't deny so many people...lol Technically speaking, Redemption is the true "sequel" because it is the return of Vergil.**

**So, I will continue to write Twisted for posting later, but the next story in the series you see will be Redemption. I've already began calculating how it will go. It's very hard, because there are several really good "Vergil return" stories already on this website! (The Little Things that Give You Away being my favorite!) I'm trying hard to put something together that doesn't overlap into those stories. So we'll see how this goes.**

**Finally, I have added more onto this chapter. Seems people were thinking that I was trying to make a Dante/Amy story, and I'm not. Amy is Vergil's, and she would never go for Dante...lol This is more me, being a Dante fan, having fun messing with them. I love it when they bicker, but I also see a lot of potential from them to learn from one another. That is why I have them switching bodies. Yes, Amy and Dante are in one another's bodies in Twisted. I may need to rewrite a bit, because it isn't obvious from what I put up which is why I'm lengthening this chapter without giving too much away.**

**So hopefully we'll see Chapter 1 of Redemption soon. Until then, drool and giggle over Dante and Amy not knowing how to handle what this author is throwing at them! lol**

**Bleed For Me - Twisted**

**Preview**

_Uh oh... _Dante thought as he stirred from sleep. He could feel a warm body beside him and he couldn't remember how he got there. He knew from the moment he moved that he, and she were naked, and he couldn't remember how he'd got that way. He also wondered if he could sneak out before this nights paramore would notice him gone. If he had hooked up with a girl in a drunken stupor that didn't entitle him to call her later, did it?

He slowly got up off the bed, all the while watching the lump that lay under the covers beside him. He thought the room looked oddly familiar, but that wasn't the pressing matter at the moment. He slowly walked through the shadowed room, as the curtains were still drawn, and found his clothes scattered on the floor. _Must've been a good night. _He smirked, feeling a bit dissapointed. _Wish I could remember it..._

As he leaned over to pick up his pants he suddenly heard movement from across the room. Had she woken? He turned back to the bed where the exposed torso of man was now clearly visable. Dante went rigid as he looked towards the bed, because the head laying on the pillow had a mop of silver white hair. HIS hair...

With a intake of horror he stifled a "What the fuck" and ducked into the nearest bathroom. He closed the door softly and took a step back from the door like it might attack him. _I'm seeing things, that's all. _He thought. It must've been the shock of Vergil's death finally catching up with him. Yup, that had to be it. He turned to the sink, turned on the water and began to drench his face with it. As he went to bend over again however a long auburn strand fell over his shoulder. It made him shiver, but it also made him look down. His eyes grew wide as he realized a vital organ was missing down south and he had inherrited breasts.

His head shot up to the mirror and he almost screamed as he saw Amy's face gawking back at him.

"What happened?" He croaked, and found that his voice was no longer deep but feminine. The only thing that seemed to remain was the blue of his eyes. Suddenly he heard a loud shatter from the room he'd just left. He opened the door slightly to peak through, but just as soon as he'd opened it someone came rushing in and he smacked into a flat, solid chest.

"YOU!" The chest seemed to vibrate as a snarl he recognized as his own hit his ears. He looked up into cold green eyes.

"Amy?" Dante asked, finding it odd to be calling his image by a different name. Amy grabbed hold of his shoulders and pushed him against the bathroom wall.

"What did you do?!" She screamed at him. Dante was suddenly very sympathetic to all the people he had ever done this to, because now he had to feel it in a human body. His shoulder blades screamed in protest as they hit the hard tile.

"N-now Amy! In that body you can't hit a woman, it's a RULE!" He heard her voice yelp as it came out. _I don't yelp damnit! _

"You AREN'T a woman!" She protested. "But you will be when I'm finished with you!" She let go of his shoulders and stood back with her arms crossed against the wide expanse of her chest.

"I'm glad to see you again too." He said akwardly. Amy suddenly went bright red, and threw a towel at him.

"Cover me up you perve!"

Dante noted how queer that sounded coming from his mouth, but he wrapped the towel around his waist out of habit.

"All of me." She groaned, lifting the towel up so nothing was left exposed but his legs and shoulders.

"I'm not use to this." He said akwardly, then grinned at her. "You're not exactly well covered yourself."

She looked at him confused and Dante pointed downward to discover where his lost appendage had dissapeared to. Amy looked as if she hadn't even noticed, but suddenly backed away as if doing so would remove it from her. Dante barked out a laugh, that annoyingly came out as a giggle, and threw another towel at her. She quickly wrapped it up under her arms.

"Aren't you going to yell at me for running around naked in your skin?" She asked him as they left the bathroom.

"Why should I? It would be a shame to cover it up." He said, sitting on the bed.

"Dante, what is going on? Why am I in your body, and you're in mine?" Amy looked like she might pass out. Dante wasn't paying attention though, she was acting so...girly in her movements, _in my body_, that it was disturbing to view.

"You have a hand in this, I just know it!" She said exasperatedly as she sat on the bed next to him. Again he couldn't help notice he was shorter than her. _Well this is just odd. _"You already got me fired from my job the last time I saw you, and now HOW am I supposed to explain..." She fumbled her arms in the air, as if trying to find the right word to describe what had happened to her.

"If your boss is female, I could think of one way."

Amy punched him hard in the arm and he let out a groan. "Oh yes, how I've missed this." He said sarcastically, rubbing his shoulder. Then to his horror, she began to cry. "No! There is no crying in my body!" He yelled, turning her to face him. "I will fix this, OK? Just don't cry, you'll scar me for life."

At that moment though there was a knock on the door.


End file.
